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HISTORY 



EASTPORT, AND VICINITY: 



LJelfcTU RE, 



DELIVERED APRIL, 1834, 



BEFORE THE 



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iigig'lPCDIB^ Cd'S'OIiWMIo 



By JONATHAN D. WESTON, Esq. 

COUNSELLOR AT LAW. 



BOSTON: 

MARSH, CAPEN AND LYON. 

9 18 3 4. 



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LECTURE. 



With the view of rescuing from oblivion, some of the facts 
and circumstances relative to, and connected with the early- 
history of this town and vicinity, together with the hope of 
gratifying a laudable curiosity on the subject, in those who 
have been but little acquainted with its history, I have been 
induced to collect such as have come within my own observa- 
tion, as well as those I could learn from others. Such is the 
nature of the subject, that very little aid can be derived from 
books and written evidence, and resources are very scanty. 
— Unless, indeed, they are soon collected in a more permanent 
and tangible form, our early history and the events connected 
with it, will soon be lost, or known only by tradition. T have 
made careful inquiries, and have had recourse to all the doc- 
umentary evidence within my reach ; still, I am by no means 
certain of fixing your attention, or interesting you in the de- 
tails I am about to give, for they are little susceptible of pol- 
ish. The dry detail of dates and references, of facts and 
statistics, are, necessarily, less attractive, than a well written 
essay, abounding with illustration, or than biography, history, 
poetry, or treatises on the sciences, where harmony of period, 
melody of style, and the graces and beauties of composidon 
add to the pleasure derived from the subject itself, which is 
treated of. 

Connected with this subject, it may not be irrelevant to ad- 
vert to the history of this section of the countr.v, and that of 



its boundaries, previous to its actual settlement ; and this I 
propose to do, as concisely as practicable, consistently with a 
full and distinct understanding of the subject. 

At the close of the 16th century, the northern coast of the 
American continent had become generally known to the na- 
tions of Europe, several parts having been frequently visited 
for the purposes of discovery, fishing and traffic. But all 
knowledge of the interior country, its geography and resources, 
was extremely limited, and all acquaintance with its shores, 
rivers, bays and inlets was quite imperfect. 

In the several voyages to this continent, we find no account 
of any one who visited the waters or shores of Maine, earlier 
than 1602, when Bartholomew Gosnold, an English navigator, 
is supposed to have fallen in with some part of the coast of 
Maine. But in the following year, Martin Pring, in the 
Speedwell, a vessel of fifty tons, with a crew of thirty men 
and boys, accompanied by another vessel, the Discover- 
er, of twenty-six tons, with thirteen men and a boy, sailed 
from Milford-Haven, and, on the seventh of June, fell in with 
the coast, in the waters since called Penobscot Bay, but by 
the French called ' Pentagoet.' Thence he sailed along the 
coast to Piscataqua ; thence farther southward, and for home 
in August. Pring also made a second voyage in 1606. — The 
subsequent voyages of others, added still more to the stock of 
knowledge of the country, and to the thirst of gain expected 
to be derived from it. 

The French, as well as the English, were repeating their 
visits to this northern country every year, and making it, at 
home, a favorite topic of conversation and inquiry. Purchass, 
an early writer, states that one Savelet, an old mariner, had, 
before 1609, made no less than forty-two voyages to these 
parts. — Both nations were highly elated with ideas of exten- 
sive foreign dominions, and the prospect of an abundant com- 
merce ; but the means and measures best fitted for their at- 
tainment, were unknown, as well to the sage as the speculator. 



It was a great misfortune to those nations, and no less to this 
country, that they both coveted the same territories, using all 
practicable means to establish, in themselves severally, the 
most plausible title to their claims. Twenty years before, 
Humphrey Gilbert had taken formal possession of Newfound- 
land, and the region two hundred leagues about it, in behalf of 
Queen Elizabeth ; and the Marquis de la Roche was commis- 
sioned by the king of France, to conquer and colonize all the 
regions bordering on the St. Lawrence, and unlimited in ex- 
tent. The people of both nations were resolved in their pur- 
poses ; and, with such objects in view, and with the rival feel- 
ings of each towards the other, it might easily be foreseen 
that these counter-possessory claims would produce the se- 
verest excitements, if not actual war. 

By a royal patent of November 8th, 1603, King Henry 
IV., of France, granted to Pierre de Gast, Sieure de Monts, 
all the American territory between the fortieth and forty-sixth 
degrees of north latitude, and appointed him Lieutenant Gen- 
eral of this extensive region, with authority to colonize and 
rule it according to his discretion, and to subdue and christian- 
ize its native inhabitants. The name given in the patent was 
'Acadia,' or 'Acadie.' This charter or patent, having no 
other boundaries or confines than the degrees of latitude 
mentioned, was found to embrace the American coast, be- 
tween the island of Cape Breton and the shores below the 
mouth of Manhattan, now the Hudson or North river. De 
Monts, during the winter, procured and equipped two vessels, 
and sailed for America March 7th, 1604, and arrived the 
6th of May following, at Cape de la Heve, near Liverpool, 
on the southerly side of the peninsula of Nova Scotia. He 
was accompanied by his friends, M. de Potrincourt, and Samuel 
Champlain, who was his pilot. Leaving la Heve, they sailed 
northerly round Cape Sable, and eastwardly along the north- 
ern shore of Nova Scotia, entered a spacious basin, and an- 
chored in a good harbor. Potrincourt was charmed with 



the beauty of the place, and determined to make it his future 
residence. He obtained a grant of it from de Monts, which 
was afterwards confirmed by the King, and gave it the name of 
Port Royal, now Annapolis ; and here his party dwelt for sev- 
eral years. 

In exploring the Bay of Fundy, de Monts visited the river 
St. John, and gave it the name it has ever since borne. 
Thence he proceeded into the waters of Passamaquoddy, as- 
cended the Schoodic, to a small island, which Champlain se- 
lected for a resting place and a fortification, and here they pass- 
ed the winter. As Passamaquoddy Bay and the river Schoodic 
now form a part of the eastern boundary of this State, a 
more particular account of its first discovery and situation, 
may not be uninteresting. But as I propose again to recur to 
this part of the subject, at a subsequent period of this Address, 
I prefer to continue the regular chain of the narrative, unin- 
terruptedly. 

De Monts and his men called the bay ' a sea of salt water ; ' 
but in ascending the river, found it an inconsiderable one, and 
admitting vessels, even on the tide, to no great distance. The 
island itself, containing but a few acres, they called St. Croix, 
because ten leagues higher, there were brooks, which came 
' crosswise, to fall within this large branch of the sea ' — a 
circumstance which has given to the Schoodic the same name. 
The island is situated just opposite the northeast corner of 
Robbinston, just below the Devil's Head : its soil is fertile, and 
is usually the residence of one family. It is often call- 
ed Neutral Island, and was the property of the late General 
Brewer. 

L'Escarbot, who was himself with de Monts in this voyage, 
and afterwards published a history of it, says, of the island, 
' it was half a league in circuit, seated in the midst of the 
river ; the ground most excellent, and abundantly fruitful ; 
strong by nature and easy of defence, but difficult to be found. 
' For,' says he, ' there are so many isles and great bays to pass. 



(from the St. John,) before we come to it, I wonder how one 
ever pierced so far as to find it. The woods of the main land 
are fair and admirably high and well grown, as in hke manner 
is the grass. There is right over against the island, fresh water 
brooks, very pleasant and agreeable, where divers of M. de 
Monts' men transacted their business, and builded certain 
cabins.' 

The season being far advanced, de Monts concluded to pass 
the winter upon the island. Apprehending danger from the 
savages, he erected a fortification on the north part of it, 
which entirely commanded the river. The fort was sheltered 
by trees, which he directed not to be felled ; and within its 
walls he planted his cannon, and constructed a chapel, after the 
Indian manner of building. ' Hoary snow-father being come, 
(as L'Escarbot expresses himself) they were forced to keep 
much within the doors of their dwellings, during the winter. 
But as there was not plenty of wood, which had been too 
prodigally used in building ; and a want of fresh water, which 
was found on the banks of the river, strongly enclosed under 
locks of ice ; they were under the necessity of procuring both 
from the shores, every day.' Some of the savages were oc- 
casionally bespoken ; and through fear of surprise or assault 
from them, who had a lodgement at the fool of the island, 
and appeared to be jealous, de Monts kept a constant watch, 
night and day. 

The winter was severe, and the sufferings of the people 
from the scurvy, very grievous : not one wholly escaped it ; 
and thirty-six out of seventy, (Ogilly says ninety-seven,) ac- 
tually died before the Spring. At the usual seed-time, they 
prepared a piece of ground and sowed it with rye ; and, being 
absent in the firsts eason of reaping, they gathered, in the sec- 
ond year, a growth of it, in the narrator's words, ' as fair, big, 
and weighty as in France.' This being a mere temporary 
residence, could never have assumed any considerable im- 
portance, had it not been the first pretension of a settlement 



8 

in Acadie. L'Escaibot adds, * the people that be from St. 
Jolin's river to Kennibeki, wherein are the rivers St. Croix 
and Norombegua, are called Etechemins.' 

When the survivors of the party had sufficiently recovered 
their strength, de Monts put his provisions and arms on board 
his pinnace, and about the middle of May, 1605, he and his men 
embarked in search of a more convenient station, and a warm- 
er climate. In ranging along the coast westwardly, they enter- 
ed the bay of Penobscot, which, with the neighboring country, 
some European adventurers had previously understood by the 
natives, was called Norombegua. At Kennebec, they erected a 
cross, and took possession in the name of their King ; and, after 
visiting Casco Bay and Saco River, proceeded to Cape Cod. 
But unsatisfied with the country, as a place of settlement, they 
returned to St. Croix, and soon proceeded to Port Royal. 
Here he met M. Dupont, with an accession of forty men, with 
fresh supplies, in a ship from France ; and, removing the re- 
mainder of his property from the island St. Croix across the 
bay, he lodged it with his other stores at the mouth of the river 
emptying into the basin of Port Royal. At this place he con- 
structed a fort ; and, having made due disposition of his affairs, 
sailed for France, leaving Dupont, Champlain and Chauvin to 
explore the country and complete the settlement. 

The expedition of de Monts drew the attention of the En- 
glish to this side of the Atlantic. To avoid the jealousy of 
the French, and at the same time to secure the advantages of 
prior possession and continual claim, George Weymouth was 
despatched on a pretended voyage of discovery of a north- 
west passage. He sailed March 31, 1605, and made the 
land near Cape Cod, and thence coasted eastwardly as far 
as Penobscot. He stopped at a place, called, by him, ' Pente- 
cost Harbor,' now George's Island Harbor, at the mouth of 
George's River. ' Here,' says the Journalist, ' on the twenty- 
second of May, we digged a garden, sowed pease and barley 
and garden seeds, which, in sixteen days, grew up eight inch- 



es ; although this was but the crust of the ground and much 
inferior to the mould we afterwards found on the main.' Wey- 
mouth, by treachery and force, seized and carried away a 
Sagamore, and three other Indians of rank and influence, and 
otherwise ill treated the natives. A forfeiture of trade and 
hospitality, hatred of the English name, revenge and cruelties 
were the consequences of these and much baser improprieties ; 
and more than counterbalanced the fruits of the voyage, and 
the possession taken of the country. Such conduct was in 
the highest degree impolitic and unjust, though it seemed not 
to be much regarded or reprobated at home. 

On the 10th of April, 1606, about two years and a half af- 
ter the grant to de Monts, a charter was obtained from king 
James I. of England, of the vast extent of territory, lying be- 
tween the 34th and 46th degrees of north latitude, and from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, including all the islands with- 
in one hundred miles of the coast. This immense tract was 
divided into two colonies ; the first, granted to a London Com- 
pany, extended north to the 41st degree of latitude, and was 
called South Virginia. The remainder, granted to a company 
of adventurers in the town of Plymouth, was called North 
Virginia, and covered all but one degree of the previous 
French grant to de Monts. Under this charter, the adven- 
turers sent out colonists in 1607. The one from Plymouth, 
destined to the northern shore, consisted of two ships, 
and one hundred men, under the command of Captain 
George Popham, as President, and Captain Rawly Gilbert, as 
Admiral, sailed on the 31st of May, and arrived at the island 
of Monhegan, the 11th of August, and then continued on, to 
the Kennebec, where they planted themselves upon an island, 
in the mouth of that river. Thence they removed to the 
main land, built a commodious house, barn, and a few slender 
cabins, erected a fort, block-house, he, which they named 
Fort George, (afterwards called Popham's Fort,) and forty- 
five of the colonists passed the winter there, the two ships 
2 



10 

having sailed for England the 5th of December. This was 
subsequently denominated the Sagadahock Colony. But a 
succession of peculiarly unfavorable circumstances terminated 
the existence and hopes of this colony, the succeeding year, 
and the survivors returned to England. 

M. Potrincourt, wishing to revive his plantation at Port Roy- 
al, which had fallen into decay, procured the King's confirma- 
tion of his grant, upon condition of his endeavors to convert 
the natives to the Catholic faith. In 1608, he sailed, with 
his son, Biencourt, and several families, intending to become 
settlers, — and two Jesuits, Biard and Masse. During the pas- 
sage, a sharp controversy arose between him and the ecclesi- 
astics, in which he boldly told them, ' it was his part to rule 
them on earth, and theirs only to guide him to heaven.' Po- 
trincourt remained at Port Royal a short time, and, returning 
to France, left his son in command. Disdaining to be under 
the control of these priests, who assumed the control of the 
civil affairs of the plantation, Biencourt threatened them with 
corporeal punishment, in return for their spiritual anathemas. 
Early in the Spring, therefore, the Jesuits left him and proceed- 
ed westward, to an island on the coast of Maine, then called 
Mount Mansel, but now called Mount Desert. Here they 
constructed and fortified an habitation, planted gardens, 
laid out grounds, and dwelt for five years, entering with zeal 
and untiring perseverance upon the work of converting the na- 
tives to Christianity. Their number was subsequently aug- 
mented by the arrival of one Suassaye, with twenty-five colo- 
nists, who called the place St. Sauveur. But they did not 
long remain unmolested. Disputes had already arisen between 
the French and English, respecting the bounds of their res- 
pective grants, which, from want of information relating to the 
situation of the country, ran with strange perplexity into one 
another. The disposition of the French to extend their set- 
tlement still farther west, was viewed with alarm by the gov- 
ernment established in Virginia ; and, in 1613. Captain Argal, 



11 

was sent with eleven vessels, carrying sixty soldiers and four- 
teen pieces of cannon, to dislodge them. He seized upon the 
fort at Mount Desert, together with a ship and barque or pin- 
nace, then in the harbor, broke in pieces the cross erected by 
the Jesuits, reared another inscribed with the name of his 
King, and, in this way, took formal possession of the place. 
Gilbert du Thet, one of the Jesuits, was killed by a musket- 
ball during the attack. Proceeding farther eastward, he took 
one vessel at St. Croix Island, destroyed what remained of 
de Monts' settlement, crossed the Bay of Fundy, and came to 
anchor before Port Royal. The French at the time were 
mostly absent from the fort. Argal, therefore, lost no time ; 
and, in two hours after he had landed his men, he reduced the 
entire settlement to ashes. Having accomplished his object, 
he carried the ship, pinnace, ordnance, cattle and provisions, 
together with part of the prisoners, including the Jesuits, to 
Virginia. The French power in this quarter was thus inter- 
rupted, and it was a number of years before it recovered from 
the disaster. This hostile expedition took place in a time of 
profound peace between the two crowns, and the reason as- 
signed, was the encroachments of the French upon the terri- 
tories of the English. 

On the 3d of November, 1620, a new charter was granted 
by King James T. to forty noblemen, knights and gentlemen, 
collectively denominated ' The Council established at Plym- 
outh in the county of Devon, for planting, ruhng and govern- 
ing New England in America.' This charter granted, in fee 
simple, the whole country situated between the 40th and 48th 
degrees of north latitude in breadth ; and in length, by the 
same breadth, ' throughout the main land from sea to sea ; ' 
embracing in fact all the country from Philadelphia to the 
Bay of Chaleur. This charter expressly recognizes that of 
April 10th, 1606, and premises that this country had lately 
experienced, under a visitation from God, an uncommon des- 
olation, by a ' destructive plague,' and ' horrible slaughters 



12 

and murders among the savages ; ' and that none other than 
English subjects had any possessions within that territory. Nay, 
' many places for leagues,' it was stated, ' were without native 
inhabitants to challenge any interest in the lands.' Under this 
charter, which existed upwards of fourteen years, were all the 
grants made, which originally divided the country between the 
Hudson and Penobscot rivers ; but beyond these bounds the 
patent appears to have had no pracucal operation. 

Sir F. Gorges, one of the most prominent men in the coun- 
cil, foresaw that the French, settled at Quebec, Port Royal, 
Mount Desert, Sic, though expelled by Argal, eight years be- 
fore, intended to become exclusive possessors of the country, 
and that efficient measures ought to be promptly adopted to 
thwart their designs. A difficulty, however, arose from a de- 
ficiency in the charter itself; for though it extended two de- 
grees farther north than the former one, it only embraced the 
Bay of Chaleur, and fell short, at least a degree, of the south- 
erly bank of the St. Lawrence. To obviate this perplexity, 
a conveyance was made by the Council of Plymouth, of a 
large portion of their northeastern territory to Sir William 
Alexander, who was Secretary of State from Scodand, and 
afterwards created Earl Sterling and Viscount of Canada, 
which was forthwith confirmed and enlarged by a patent from 
King James I. of England, dated September 10th, 1621. 

This patent to Sir William Alexander and his heirs, embrac- 
ed all the lands of the continent, and islands, reckoning from 
Cape Sable in about 43 degrees north latitude, along the sea- 
shore to St. Mary's Bay : thence to the north, in a straight line 
to the entrance or mouth of the great bay between the coun- 
tries of the Souriquois and of the Etechemius, as far as the 
river of St. Croix, ' and to the farthest source or spring, which 
first comes from the west ; from thence by a straight imaginary 
line, crossing the lands, or running towards the north, as far as 
the first bay, river or spring, which runs into the great river of 
Canada ; ' thence eastward by the shores of the river to the 



13 

sea ; and so on, round the peninsula to Cape Sable, and includ- 
ing the islands within six leagues of the coast. This tract 
was called Nova Scotia or New Scotland. Ii was granted to 
Sir William and his heirs in fee simple, and without any con- 
dition whatever. Under this charter Sir William sent out sev- 
eral vessels, rather to make discoveries than to colonize, 'till 
1624, when he transported thither some Scottish settlers, and 
' after subduing the French inhabitants, or removing them to 
Virginia, planted a colony there himself, and held possession 
ten years, before it returned to the French,' by the treaty of 
St. Germains, May 29, 1632. 

New England being now brought into notice by the respec- 
tability of the persons who had engaged in its cause, and es- 
pecially by the profits derived from the fish and fur trade, the 
intercourse was yearly increasing. Prince, in his Annals, 
states that in 1621, ten or twelve ships, from the west of 
England, procured full cargoes of fish and fur; in 1622, thir- 
ty-five ships; in 1623 forty ships; and in 1624, fifty ships 
were engaged in the same trade. 

King James died in 1624, and his successor, Charles I., 
married a French Catholic Princess, By the marriage treaty 
it was stipulated to recede or resign the jurisdiction of Acadia 
to France. This treaty, in view of all Englishmen interested, 
cast a deep shade on American affairs, and brought into colli- 
sion the rights of the patentees and the engagements of the 
crown. 

After much exertion. Sir William, in 1625, obtained a con- 
firmation of his grant, described and sanctioned with much 
particularity ; but it availed him very little. His efforts for 
settling the country, were feeble and inefficient, and his colo- 
nists returned home. Though not yet in possession, the 
French King, in 1627, made a grant to Claude St. Etienne de 
la Tour, of lands, five leagues on each side of the river St. 
John, and two leagues back from the shore. It is said, he al- 
so obtained^ from Charles a confirmation of the grant of Sir 



14 

William to himself, and from Louis, the French King, a com- 
mission, dated February U, 1631, to be Governor of Aca- 
dia. 

By the third article of the treaty of St. Germains, Charles 
resigned to the French monarch ' all the places occupied by 
British subjects in New France, Acadia, and Canada.' To 
this transaction may be traced events, most important to the 
northern colonies, and especially to Maine. Chalmers suppos- 
es that the cause of the disputes between the colonies and 
the mother country, may be traced to this transaction. The 
article was artfully drafted ; no boundaries were mentioned, and 
the avenues were opened for those unhmited controversies 
about lines and limits, which are among the worst of national 
evils. 

Desirous to advance the settlement of his Acadian colony, 
the French monarch made several grants. One of the first, 
in 1633, was to M. de Razilla, a military officer, who had 
been appointed to take the possession and command of the 
country, which embraced the river and bay of St. Croix, and 
the islands in the vicinity — ' twelve leagues on the sea, and 
twenty leagues into the land.' Its eastern boundary probably 
adjoined the western line of the patent made before to La 
Tour, on the St. John's. The new grant was extensive, yet 
it is not ascertained whether it did or did not extend south- 
ward of the river St. Croix. Certain it is, that every other 
was northward of it, except the dormant one to de Monts. 

The patents of the Plymouth Council embraced the whole 
seaboard, from Piscataqua to Penobscot ; but they still held, 
by their charter, the territory between the Penobscot and St. 
Croix, unassigned and unsold. 

The new Plymouth colonists, undismayed by a piratical at- 
tack by the French, in June 1632, on their trading house at 
Penobscot, which was plundered of its contents to the amount 
of £500, kept their station, and pursued their traffic for three 
years longer, before they were {"breed entirely to abandon the 



15 

place. Besides, the next Spring they established at Ma- 
chias a new trading house, which they replenished with a va- 
riety of valuable commodities, and put it under a guard of five 
or six men, trustworthy and well armed. It was an eligible 
station above Cross Island, on the west bank of the river ; the 
remains of an ancient fort being still visible there. They 
might have been encouraged and supported by the Plymouth 
Council, in a full determination to keep possession of the 
country. 

The faults of La Tour, Governor of Acadia, were avarice, 
pride and passion ; and such high resentments did he affect to 
feel, when he heard of the trading-house set up at Machias, 
that he hastened away to lay it in ruins. Meeting with resist- 
ance, he killed two of the defenders ; and, after rifling the 
house of all the articles of value he could find, he carried his 
booty and the survivors to Port Royal. The amount of proper- 
ty pillaged was £400 or 500. Afterwards, in reply to Mr. Al- 
lerton, of New Plymouth, who came to recover the prisoners 
and goods, and to inquire if he had authority for this transac- 
tion, — La Tour insolently and insultingly replied,' I have taken 
them as lawful prize ; my authority is from the King of France, 
who claims the coast from Cape Sable to Cape Cod : I wish 
the English to understand, if they trade to the eastward of 
Pemaquid, I shall seize them. My sword is all the commission 
I shall show : when 1 want help, I will produce my authority. 
Take your men, and be gone.' Ten years after this transaction, 
La Tour, who was at Boston, seeking assistance against D'Aul- 
nay, was called to account for the part he took in this business, 
before the Governor and Assistants. His explanation to the 
Governor and offer to Mr. Vines, the principal sufferer, to 
abide the judgment of referrees, seems to have been satisfac- 
tory. 

The present was a trying period to the affairs of the Plym- 
outh Council. The merchants believed that it possessed a 
monopoly of trade : the majority of the Commons considered 



16 

the Council under royal influence, and devoted to the claims 
of prerogative ; high churchmen looked on them as opposed 
to prelacy, and opening an asylum to puritans; while the King 
himself suspected the New England colonists were enjoying 
liberties and privileges wholly inconsistent with his notions of 
regal power. Sir F. Gorges strenuously defended the ' cor- 
poration and its measures,' before the House of Commons, but 
in vain. When decisions are only sanctions of decrees pre- 
determined, all arguments, principles and rights are nullities. 
A dissolution of the Plymouth Council must be its fate, and 
the members made preparations for it. Hence they conclud- 
ed to divide the whole patent into twelve royal provinces, and 
to draw lots, February 3, 1635, in presence of the King, for 
each of the grand divisions. The first province or division 
embraced the country between St. Croix and Pemaquid, and 
extended north to the 48th degree of north latitude ; it was 
called the county of Canada, and was assigned to Sir William 
Alexander, Earl of Sterling, who died in 1640. His de- 
scendants have, within a few years, (say four or five,) laid 
claim to Nova Scotia, under the ancient patent of King James 
to their ancestor. Major General Lord Sterling, a distinguish- 
ed ofiicer in the American army during the Revolutionary 
War, was a descendant of Sir William Alexander, the grantee 
of Nova Scotia. The other divisions were in like manner as- 
signed to others. The last meeting of the Plymouth Council 
was held April 25, 1635, previous to which a decree was en- 
tered against the charter, though never carried into execution. 
They entered in their books the reasons of their proceedings ; 
and, having held the charter about fifteen years, resigned it in- 
to the hands of the King, first reserving all grants and all vest- 
ed rights. At this time, the whole number of white people in 
Maine from Piscataqua to Penobscot, is estimated at about 
fifteen hundred. 

An almost constant state of petty warfare existed between 
the French and English, and repeated inroads and reprisals 



17 

were made by each upon the other. The French claimed and 
occupied the coast and territory, and controlled the tribes of 
Indians situated about and between the St. John and Penob- 
scot. But it is certain, that the French at no time, had any 
territorial possession westward of the Penobscot, which was 
the divisional bounds, in fact, for many years between the 
French and English. Hutchinson says the French continued 
in possession of Penobscot 'till 1664. 

About this time also the rivalry of the French officers, La 
Tour, son of the La Tour above mentioned, whose command 
extended from the head of the Bay of Fundy, to the St. Croix, 
and D'Aulnay, stationed at Major Biguyduce, now Castine, and 
claiming a paramount command and government, and from 
thence to Cape Sable, and the intermediate country, produced 
disastrous consequences, and ended in a predatory and exter- 
minating warfare, rendered more fierce and bitter by religious 
zeal and bigotry, D'Aulnay being a Catholic, and La Tour a Pro- 
testant, and which lasted for twelve years. Each party, in turn, 
made application to Massachusetts for assistance, who, though 
she declined openly to interfere, secretly aided each, fomenting 
rather than allaying the disputes between them. One circum- 
stance I may mention. In 1645, D'Aulnay attacked St. John, 
in the absence of La Tour ; but his wife made a heroic defence, 
killed twenty and wounded thirteen of the assailants. Two 
years aftervi^ards he again invested it, — twelve of his men 
were killed in the assault, and several wounded ; but he finally 
succeeded, made La Tour's wife a prisoner, and, it is said, put 
all the others, both French and English, to the sword. The 
amount of plunder which he carried away, is estimated at up- 
wards of £10,000. 

In 1654, though it was a time of profound peace between 
England and France, the Protector Cromwell, who had sent 
out several ships against the Dutch at Manhadoes, or New 
York, secretly gave orders to the captains, after reducing the 
Dutch, to turn their arms against Nova Scotia, and make a 
conquest of it. This was easily accomplished, and the whole 
3 



18 

country, from Penobscot, eastward, including Nova Scotia, fell 
into the hands of the English. This act of aggression was 
complained of by the French, but Cromwell refused to re- 
store it, claiming it under an older and paramount title ; and the 
next season, the whole Acadian province was confirmed to the 
English, who held it thirteen years, when it was re-surrender- 
ed to the French, under the treaty of Breda, July 31, 1667. 
Cromwell appointed Sir William Temple governor, and two 
years after, (1656,) gave to him, one Crown, and La Tour a 
joint grant of the territory of Acadia, and that part of the 
country called Nova Scotia, from Merliquash, (now Lunen- 
burgh,) to Penobscot, the river St. George, and the Muscin- 
gus, situated on the confines of New England. 

Soon after the Restoration, King Charles 11., by charter 
dated the 12th of March, 1664, granted to his brother James, 
Duke of York, certain claims upon the Hudson River, and 
finding no royal grant extant, which covered the territory be- 
tween St. Croix and Pemaquid, except those made when the 
New England grand patent was dissolved, and the twelve prov- 
inces projected and assigned in 1635, included this region al- 
so in the charter, it being the first of those twelve provinces, 
and had been assigned to Sir William Alexander, and is de- 
scribed to be, ' all that part of the main land in New England, 
beginning at a place known by the name of St. Croix, next 
adjoining to New England ; thence extending along the sea- 
coast to a place called Pemaquid, and up the river thereof to 
its farthest head,' and by other boundaries to the river of Can- 
ada northward. This, besides being called ' the Duke of 
York's territory,' has also been called ' the territory of Sagada- 
hock,' ' New Castle,' and the ' County of Cornwall.' No 
other grants in Maine or Nova Scotia appear to have been 
made ; and at the treaty of Breda, three years afterwards, all 
Acadia, without specification as to boundaries, but including, 
by name, ' St. John, Port Royal, Latteve, Cape Sable, and 
Pentagoet,' or Penobscot, as being parts of the province, 
were resigned into the possession of the French, who built 



19 

stockaded forts at Port Royal, St. John, and Penobscot. A 
profitable trade was pursued in furs, peltry and fish ; but in 
other respects the country, for several years, was treated with 
great inattention, Canada affording the principal attraction to 
the French enierprize. Meanwhile, the whole coast between 
Penobscot and St. Croix, remained untouched by the arts of 
culture and improvement, and almost without inhabitants, save 
the aborigines. At this time the white population of Nova 
Scotia is stated at nine hundred only. M. du Bourg was ap- 
pointed governor of Acadia, and a friendly intercourse and 
trade subsisted between him and the people of New England. 
But the Dutch, in J 674, seized upon the fort at Penobscot, 
which they soon after abandoned, and again, in 1676, whence 
they were expelled by a force sent from Boston. 

Charles II. died February 16th, 1685, and was succeeded 
by his brother, the Duke of Y"ork, now James II. He ap- 
pointed two commissioners to manage his ducal province in 
Maine, John Palmer and John West, who were directed ' to lay 
claim to the country as far eastward as the river St. Croix,' the 
limit of the patent, and to exercise over it the prerogatives of 
government, to the extent of his power and right. Under 
these instructions they seized a cargo of wines, at Penobscot, 
landed there under the belief the place was within the French 
territory ; but the wine was ultimately restored, and the difficul- 
ty healed. 

King James II., after a short reign of three years, having 
been driven from the throne in 1688, and gone over to France, 
a war ensued between the two countries. As soon as this was 
known at Boston, preparations were immediately made to re- 
gain Nova Scotia, and reduce Quebec. Early in the Spring 
of 1690, an expedition of seven sail, under the command of 
Sir William Phips, (who was a native of Woolwich, in this 
State, one of the youngest of his mother's twenty-six children, 
twenty-one being sons,) sailed from Boston. He proceeded 
first to Port Royal, which surrendered at discretion ; then vis- 
ited the other French settlements, and took formal possession 



20 

of the whole country and coast, including the islands, as far as 
Penobscot. 

The whole country, except Quebec, being now in possession 
of the English, the important instrument, denominated the 
charter of William and Mary, or the Provincial charter, pass- 
ed the seals, October 7, 1691, and received the royal sanc- 
tion. This constituted for eighty-nine years the foundation and 
ordinance of civil government, for the United Territories of 
Massachusetts, Plymouth, Maine and Sagadahock, collective- 
ly called the Province of Massachusetts Bay, being supersed- 
ed by the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. 
The charter specially included the country from Pemaquid to 
the St. Croix, Schoodic or Nova Scotia, — the ducal province 
of James II. having now reverted to the crown, on his abdica- 
tion. Nova Scotia also, or Acadia, though resigned to the 
French by the treaty of Breda, in 1667, had been recently 
captured by Phips, was included in the same charter, but in 
a few years was conceded by Massachusetts to the entire and 
exclusive dominion of the English crown. 

It was stipulated, by the seventh article of the treaty of 
Ryswick, of September 11, 1697, 'that mutual restitution 
should be made of all the countries, colonies and forts taken 
by either party during the war,' by virtue of which, Acadia or 
Nova Scotia, unfortunately without any definite boundaries, 
once more returned to the undisputed possession of the 
French. Nothing effectual was done towards determining the 
western limits of the province, only that in this, as in the 
treaty of Breda, provision was merely made for the appoint- 
ment of commissioners to settle that question, which was 
again revived ; France by treaty, and Massachusetts by char- 
ter, strenuously claiming the country from St. Croix to Penob- 
scot, or Kennebec. 

On the 15th July, 1710, a fleet from England intended for 
the reduction of Nova Scotia, arrived at Boston, and, being 
there joined by the colony forces, sailed for Port Royal, which 
capitulated October 2d, and the name changed to Annapolis 



21 

Royal. The submission of the rest of the province soon fol- 
lowed. This was succeeded by the treaty of Utrecht, March 
13, 1713, by which France resigned all Nova Scotia or Aca- 
dia, with its ancient boundaries, to the crown of Great Britain, 
and it has ever since remained a British province. The con- 
quest and cession of Nova Scotia, was an event highly impor- 
tant to Maine. It put to rest the long agitated question about 
boundaries, the charter of William and Mary being sufficiently 
definite, respecting the division lines, between territories of the 
same crown. The country became less exposed to the dep- 
redations of Indians and others, inasmuch as a contiguous 
province could no longer afford them a hiding place. 

To this period, it will readily be perceived, that the history 
of the Sagadahock province, has been so intimately blended 
with that of Nova Scotia, that a narrative of events and affairs 
in one, could not be understood, without tracing the chain of 
occurrences which have transpired in the other. 

The principal cause of the dispute relative to the territory 
west of St. Croix, was in considering Acadia and Nova Sco- 
tia as distinct countries, while in fact they were the same. 
Had the cessions and re-cessions from one to the other, by the 
French and English, been confined to Nova Scotia, instead of 
Acadia, (which name was generally used,) the difficulty would 
have been obviated. But the French artfully used the name, 
Acadia, which had never any other southern boundary or lim- 
its than the 40th degree of latitude, mentioned in King Hen- 
ry's charter to de Monts, in 1603, — whereas the southern ex- 
tent of Nova Scotia was well understood to be limited and 
bounded by the river St. Croix, as described in the charter 
of King James to Sir William Alexander in 1621. This ' de- 
bateable ground ' was mostly in possession of the French, 'till 
1713, and was noted for its fur trade and fishery. In the Col- 
lections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, there is an 
account of the inhabitants scattered along the coast in 16S8, as 
follows : ' At Penobscot, Baron Castine, his family, and Ran- 
ne, his servant ; at Edgemoragan, Reach, Charles St. Robin, 



22 

Ills son and daughter, and La Flour and his wife ; at Mount 
Desert, Lovvry, wife and child ; Hinds, wife and four children, 
Cadilac and wife ; at Machias, Martel, John Bretoon, wife, 
and a child of Jersey, Lattre, wife and three children ; at Pas- 
samaquoddy and St. Croix, St. Robin, wife and son, Letrell, 
John Minns, wife and four children, Lambert, and Jolly Give, 
his servant, Zorza, and Lena, his servant, perhaps forty-five 
souls.' In 1660 the white inhabitants of Maine were estimat- 
ed at five thousand, and fifteen years afterwards, at from five 
to six thousand, and the effective strength of the militia at one 
thousand. Sylvanus Davis, in a statement made to the Mas- 
sachusetts Assistants, says, ' There were as many as one hun- 
dred and fifty-six families east of Sagadahock in 1675, and, be- 
tween that river and St. George's river, near one hundred fish- 
ing vessels owned by the people there.' 

This country when first discovered by Europeans, was full 
of inhabitants, the ' Lenni Lenape,' or ' original people,' of 
whom about thirty distinct tribes have been enumerated in 
New England and Nova Scotia. In Maine there were two 
great divisions, the Abenaquis and Etechemins. The latter in- 
habited the country between the rivers Penobscot and St. 
John, both inclusive, and were divided into three tribes ; the 
Tarratines, at Penobscot, the Openangos, upon the Passama- 
quoddy Bay, and the Marechites or Armouchiquois, on the 
St. John. The Tarratines were a numerous, powerful and 
warlike people, and Hubbard and Prince say, kept the west- 
ern Indians in perpetual fear. One instance is given of an 
excursion made by them as far as Dorchester, near Boston, 
where they killed five men. They were early acquainted with 
the use of fire-arms, which were furnished them by the French, 
and instructed by them in their use. The Marechites or Ar- 
mouchiquois, inhabited the St. John River, called by them 
'Ougondy.' They were also numerous, and, according to 
Purchass, valiant and ingenious. He says they attained some 
eminence in ' painting, carving, and drawing pictures of men, 
beasts, and birds, both in wood and stone.' Their present 



23 

range is from the mouth of the river to the Madawaska, and 
even above. The Openangos, which means the same as little 
sable, ' very cunning,' more commonly called the Quoddy 
tribe, were settled about the waters of the Passamaquoddy 
Bay, and the river Schoodic. It is said they were anciently 
numerous, but probably a younger tribe, than those of Penob- 
scot on St. John. The Indian tradition is, that an Indian of 
St. John married a Tarratine wife, setded at Passamaquoddy, 
and became a tribe. It is certain that they have lived on the 
most friendly terms with both the others, and always acted in 
concert with them. Their village is at Pleasant Point, in the 
town of Perry, where there are about thirty wigwams, three 
or four framed houses, a school-house, and chapel. They are 
poor, ignorant, indolent and superstitious, attached to ancient 
customs, and to Catholic rites and forms. No motives, no 
persuasives, can rouse them from their debasing inactivity. 
They have learnt nothing from their intercourse with the 
white people but their vices. Neither the emoluments of in- 
dustry, the pleasures of education, nor the wants of life, have 
power to kindle in them the desire of becoming a civilized 
people. They are indigent and depressed ; little remains to 
them but their barbarian freedom, and they are fast sinking in- 
to that state, which will shortly end in their entire extinction. 

The Etechemins, in their general dispositions, appear to 
have been more favorable to the whites than the western In- 
dians ; less disturbed than they, in the enjoyment of their pos- 
sessions, and more discreet, they were always reluctant to en- 
gage in hostilities with the English, and have never been so 
much wasted by war and disease, though they have not alto- 
gether escaped. In 1615, their fighting men were estimated 
at 6,000, the Tarratines at 2,400, the Openangos at 1,400, 
and the Marechites at 2,200. Persons well acquainted with 
them in former years, affirm that in 1756, they could turn out 
1,500 fighting men. Their population in 1820 was only 
1,235 ; the Tarratines 390 ; Openangos 379 ; and Marechites 
466. 



24 

The Indians are generally, In their persons, well made, with 
acute senses and quick perceptions, grave and taciturn, hospi- 
table and generous, grateful for favors, but never forgetting 
an injury, revengeful and cruel, strongly attached to their 
families and tribes, rude in their dress, v^'hich formerly consist- 
ed of skins, — excessively fond of ornament and bright and 
gaudy colors. With few inducements to industry, they are 
idle and improvident, irregular in their mode of living, and un- 
cleanly in their persons and dwellings. Each tribe was gov- 
erned by a Sagamore, (sunk-a-muh) and under them by ' wise 
men,' denominated Sachems, in modern times. Chiefs, Gov- 
ernors, Captains. They have no written laws, nor judicial 
process, only a few immemorial usages ; all their proceedings, 
under the Sagamores and Sachems, being regulated by a sense 
of present fitness and benefit. Their religious notions were 
crude and full of superstitions. They believed in a great and 
good spirit, called Sazoos, and probably in the immortality of 
the soul. They also believed in an evil spirit, called Maja- 
hondo. Their moral sense was exceedingly obtuse, and had 
little or no practical operation on their lives or conduct. 
Christianity was early introduced, and subsequently taught 
among the Etechemin tribes, by the Jesuits and Catholic mis- 
sionaries. They effected great changes in the views and ex- 
ternal practices of the natives. Superstitious rites and rit- 
uals, blended with endeavors to inculcate and deepen the mor- 
al sense, and to encourage religious worship, becoming estab- 
lished, are still extant among the remnant of the tribes. But 
neither their morals, manners, principles, nor yet their customs 
tastes or sentiments, have undergone any or extensive radi- 
cal improvements. Tn all these the Indians are Indian na- 
tives still, without any essential change. 

The French appear to have had more friendly and familiar 
intercourse with the Indians than the English. They assimi 
lated more with their manners and customs, adopted their hab- 
its and modes of life, ami by intermarriages with the natives, 
acquired an influence never possessed by the English. This 



25 

was increased by the influence exercised by the Jesuits, and 
the imposing rites and ceremonies of the Catholic church, 
more palpable to the senses, and therefore more acceptable 
than the simple, but more intellectual worship of the Protest- 
ants. The Etechemin tribes are all Catholic, but not deep 
reasoners on the subject of religion. 

During fifty years, the planters and traders in Maine had 
great intercourse with the natives, undisturbed by any open 
rupture. When the Indians commenced hostilities, they were 
full of revenge and greedy of spoil. No presents, no treaties, 
no expedient, could, for any length of time, bind them in the 
bonds of peace. Their jealousies and antipathies were habit- 
ual, and, when it was too late, they had a fearful vision of ex- 
ile from the land of their fathers, or from utter extermination. 
From the time of King Philip's war, commenced in 1675, the 
inhabitants of Maine were extreme sufferers in six Indian wars, 
in which the Indians displayed their implacable resentment 
and proverbial ferocity. There are few data, to show the part 
which the Indians, east of the Penobscot, took in these wars, 
or how far they were immediate sufferers by them. The first 
treaty ever made with the eastern Indians, was November 13, 
1676. At the commencement of King William's war, 1688, 
' Egeremet of Machias,' is named as a Sagamore, engaged in 
hostilities. In June, 1692, in the attack on the fort at Wells, 
by the French and Indians under BurnefFe, ' Egeremet, who 
was from Machias or Passamaquoddy,' is mentioned among sev- 
eral other Sagamores, and his name, with those of twelve other 
Sagamores, appears in a treaty with the English, on the 11th 
of August, the next year, as representing all the tribes from 
Passamaquoddy to Saco, inclusive. A brother of his was one 
of the hostages. Egeremet was, some time after, basely killed 
by Captain Chubb, at Pemaquid, where he went to effect an 
exchange of prisoners. 

In 1704, a force of five hundred and fifty men, besides offi- 
cers, was raised in Massachusetts, and the command given to 
the celebrated Colonel Church. Furnished with fourteen 
4 



26 

transports, thirty-six whale-boats, and a scout shallop, he sail- 
ed from Boston May 21, under convoy of the Jersey and 
Gosport, ships of war, of forty-eight and thirty-two guns, at- 
tended by the province galley. The places of destination, 
specially appointed him, were Metinicus, Penobscot, Mount 
Desert, Machias, Passamaquoddy, and the settlements on the 
Bay of Fundy. His first stopping place was at Metinicus, 
whence he sent out boats to one of the Green islands, and 
took into custody three Frenchmen, named Lafavre, a father 
and two sons, and also a Canadian Indian. The prisoners, at 
first obstinate and sullen, were terrified by threats, or softened 
by promises, to give information and act as pilots. They told 
Colonel Church that there were several families of French 
and Indians living about the margin of the Penobscot, and al- 
so that Messrs. Gourdon and Sharkee, French officers, who 
had lately furnished them and the informants with ammunition 
and other necessaries, were then engaged in building a fort at 
Passamaquoddy. Church, under the pilotage of the prisoners 
and one Young, taken out of the jail at Boston for the purpose, 
made an incursion into the bay and river of Penobscot, where 
' he killed and took a considerable number both of French and 
Indians.' At Mount Desert, Colonel Church was joined by 
the ships of war, and, taking a fresh supply of provisions, pro- 
ceeded into the waters of Passamaquoddy, in whale-boats. 
Through fear of alarming the enemy, he rowed by night and 
rested by day, not permitting a gun to be discharged, even at 
an Indian, if he could be otherwise killed or taken. On the 
7th of June, Church and his men went on shore, upon an 
island, probably Moose Island, where they made prisoners of a 
French woman and her children ; and from the main land near 
her abode, they took M. Lotrull and his family. Ascending 
the river, they seized upon Gourdon and his family, and 
Sharkee and his domestics, and plundered the house of the 
latter of some valuable articles. Church observing several of 
his men hovering round Gourdon's dwelling, inquired the 
reason ; one of them replied, ' Because some of the people 



27 

within will not come out.' Church exclaimed, ' Then kill 
them;' — they instantly fired, and several fell. He then 
proceeded to the head of the navigation of the river, still en- 
gaged in the work of capture and destruction, Chartiers, a 
French officer and resident, being the only one who escaped. 
The armament then sailed up the Bay of Fundy, destroying 
JVlinas, now Horton, and two other ' populous villages,' laid 
waste the country about Chignecto, (Cumberland,) and visiting 
Fassamaquoddy, Mount Desert, and Penobscot, returned to 
Boston, after an absence of about three months. In this, his 
fifth and last eastern expedition, (having in his preceding one 
been as far as St. John,) he had taken one hundred prisoners, 
and a great amount of plunder, with the loss of only six men ; 
and, as a reward for his services, received from the Legislature 
a vote of public thanks. 

In 1722, a vessel from Annapolis for Boston, with several 
passengers, touched at Fassamaquoddy for water. Ignorant 
of hostilities, then lately commenced, they went on shore, 
where they were made prisoners by a mixed party of French 
and Indians. In making arrangements to divide the cargo, 
they sent the master on board the vessel ; when the wind 
springing up fresh and fair, he and the people on board, cut 
the cable, and made the best of their way to Boston. Those 
left behind, were afterwards released, on payment of ransom. 
In 1744, the government of Massachusetts declared war 
' against the several tribes east of the one upon Fassamaquod- 
dy ;' and forbidding all the Indians westward of a line ' be- 
ginning at three miles eastward of that river, and running 
north to the St. Lawrence,' to have any correspondence with 
those Indian rebels. 

In the year 1760, and during what is usually termed the old 
French War, the eastern tribes, who had joined with the 
French, wasted by war, famine, hardships and disease, par- 
ticularly the small-pox, now left to their fate by those who had 
made them dupes and self-destroyers, saw themselves on the 
brink of ruin, when too late to avoid the sacrifice. The tribes 



28 

that first sued for peace, were those on the St. John river and 
Passamaquoddy, who had been the foremost in taking up the 
tomahawk. One tribe sent Michael Neptune, the other Bella- 
my Glaube to Governor Lawrence, at Halifax, who entered 
into a negotiation with them, by which the treaty of 1725, 
and confirmed in 1749, was fully recognized and renewed, and 
hostages given for a strict adherence thereto. The other tribes 
soon followed their example, and thus was terminated the wars 
and even the political existence of the Indians in Maine. 

The estimates of the inhabitants of Maine at different pe- 
riods, are as follows: in 1735 about 9,000; in 1742 probably 
12,000; in 1761, 17,500, and in 1764 about 24,000 souls. 

The question of the eastern boundary came incidentally in- 
to discussion between the French and English in 1749, when 
Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, and the Marquis de la 
Galissionere were appointed to settle the disputed lines be- 
tween Canada and Nova Scotia, the place of meeting being 
fixed at Paris. On this business Shirley was absent four years, 
without accomplishing the object. The General Court, in a 
congratulatory address on his return, after expressing their re- 
gret at his want of success with the French, add, what per- 
haps is equally applicable to other nations, and also to individ- 
uals, — ' but for a long time that nation has been famous for 
doing justice by compulsion, rather than by inclination.' 

At the peace of Paris, February 10, 1763, which terminated 
the ' old French war,' France renounced and guaranteed to 
Great Britain, all Canada and Nova Scotia, with all her north- 
ern continental and insular possessions in America, except the 
small islands of St. Peters and Miguelon, in the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, which Great Britain ceded and confirmed to France, 
as a shelter for her fishermen. The same year, Canada was 
erected a provincial government, and a part of its southern 
boundary line runs from a certain point at 45 degrees of north 
latitude, eastward, ' along the highlands which divide the riv- 
ers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence, from 



29 

those which fall into the sea,' a line supposed to form the 
northern boundary or limit of Maine. 

About this time the settlement of this part of the country 
began to engage the attention of the government. As early 
as 1734, Governor Belcher made an exploring excursion into 
the eastern parts, and visited Passamaquoddy, Machias, and 
the coast westward to the Sheepscut. In 1750, Richard Hazen 
was employed, at the public expense, to make surveys and form 
a correct map or chart of the whole coast between the Merri- 
mack and St. Croix ; and in 1762 the General Court appoint- 
ed William Bratde, James Otis, and John Winslow, ' to re- 
pair to the St. Croix, determine the place where the eastern 
]y line is to begin ; to extend the said line so far as they shall 
think necessary, and ascertain and settle the same by mark- 
ed trees, or other boundary marks.' Their report was made in 
February following, accepted and printed ; but it showed a view 
rather than a descriptive survey. 

In 1764, two years afterwards. Governor Barnard, of Massa- 
chusetts, caused a survey of the bay of Passamaquoddy to be 
made, and proposed making grants of land there, as being 
within his government. The next year, Governor Wilmot, of 
Nova Scotia, did the same. The surveyor from Nova Scotia 
reported that the river called, by the Indians, Copscook, was 
anciently called by the French, St. Croix, and although Gov- 
ernor Barnard claimed the Macacadava as the St. Croix, yet 
in 1765, he applied to and obtained a grant from the Governor 
of Nova Scotia, of 100,000 acres, including Moose Island, for 
himself and his associates, lying between the Copscook and 
Schoodic rivers, on the western side of Passamaquoddy Bay. 

A brief notice of some of the incidents of the Revolution- 
ary war, which occurred in this vicinity, may with propriety 
be here introduced ; not as highly important in themselves, 
yet forming a part of the great whole, and showing that the act- 
ors were among the number of brave men, whose merits and 
deeds so much adorn the annals of the Revolution. 

Soon after the battle of Lexington, in April, 1775, Captain 



30 

Ichabod Jones, of Boston, whose wife and daughter were with 
their relatives at Machias, obtained leave of Admiral Graves to 
freight his vessel with provisions and carry them to Machias, 
on condition of returning with a cargo of wood and lumber for 
the use of the British troops. Jones was accompanied by the 
English schooner Margranetto, armed with four or five guns, 
several swivels and hand-grenades, under the command of 
Midshipman Moor, a relative of the Admiral. On his arrival, 
early in June, the settlers were called together, and in view of 
their remote and destitute situation, agreed to permit his vessel 
to load. But Benjamin Foster, and a party from East River, 
(now East Machias,) conceived the bold design of making 
prisoners of the officers while on shore, and a prize of the 
armed schooner. This object, however, was frustrated ; the 
officers got on board, and moved down to the mouth of the 
river. Foster thus disappointed, consulted with Jeremiah 
O'Brien and others, of West Falls, (now Machias,) and a plan 
of attack was agreed on. Foster and his party took a coaster, 
then in East River, and O'Brien and his party took Jones' 
largest sloop, and both proceeded down the river, some arm- 
ed with muskets, some with pitchforks and other weapons, 
with the intention of carrying the enemy by boarding. They 
were received by a warm discharge of swivels, musketry and 
hand-grenades, by which two men, named McNeil and Col- 
beth, were killed, and two or three badly wounded. In re- 
turn, a deadly fire was kept up ; Moor, who made a brave de- 
fence, was mortally wounded, several of his men killed, and 
also one Avery, master of a schooner from Connecticut, who 
happened to be on board. The vessel was then surrendered, 
and carried to the West Falls in triumph. 

Hostilities thus commenced, Jones' sloop, surnamed the 
* Liberty,' was fitted up with bulwarks, and armed with the 
guns and swivels taken from the prize. The ' Plantation 
Committee of Safety,' appointed O'Brien to command her j 
and he made an unsuccessful cruise of three weeks in the Bay 
of Fundy for the schooner Diligent, a vessel of seventy or 



31 

eighty tons, sent out to survey the coast, under Captain Knight. 
Shortly after his return, information was given that the DiU- 
gent, accompanied by a tender, under Captain Hutchins, had 
anchored at Buck's Harbor, about nine miles from Machias. 
Captain Stephen Smith, with a guard stationed there, surprised 
and took Knight a prisoner. The next day, O'Brien in the 
Liberty, and Foster in the coaster, captured both the Diligent 
and tender, without loss. The prisoners were forthwith sent to 
Falmouth, (now Portland,) accompanied by O'Brien and Fos- 
ter, who proceeded to head-quarters at Cambridge, where 
they were received by the Provincial Congress, and presented 
with the public thanks, ' for their courage and good conduct.' 
These transactions were, it is believed, the first naval enter- 
prizes of the Revolutionary War. The Liberty, Captain 
O'Brien, and Diligent, Captain John Long, were immedi- 
ately commissioned by the Provincial Congress, and cruised in 
the Bay of Fundy, where the Liberty captured, soon after, 
a brig laden with provisions. 

During the first year of the war, the eastern Indians re- 
mained quiet. Their importance, however, as frontier allies 
was soon perceived. The political relations which had long 
subsisted with the Tarratines of the Penobscot, were renewed 
and confirmed. The Passamaquoddy tribe had given indica- 
tions of good will towards the Americans. Besides, the Ma- 
rechites, on the river St. John, and the Mickmaks of Nova 
Scotia, sent a delegation of their tribes to Wateriown, who en- 
tered into a treaty of alliance and friendship with the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts, signed by ten of their chiefs on the 
19th of July, 1776. A truck-house was established at Penob- 
scot, and another soon after at Machias, whence they received 
their supplies. The government also granted to the people of 
Machias the value of £170, in corn and rye, for their relief 
and encouragement. An immense advantage accrued to the 
inhabitants, east of the Penobscot, by the St. John and Passa- 
maquoddy Indians joining with us, instead of adhering to the 
enemy j for had they, under British influence, been set on to 



32 

plunder our towns and settlements, the whole population, then 
but thinly scattered over the country, must have been destroy- 
ed. Great credit is due to the Indians for their strict and 
rigid adherence to our cause, although the Commissary's de- 
partment was at times destitute of clothing and provisions, as 
well for them as for our own troops. Several instances of 
individual courage and daring among them, well authenticated, 
are still preserved among their ancient traditions. 

The British government had established Fort Cumberland 
at the head of the Bay of Fundy in 1755, and still maintain- 
ed it ; but the troops had been gradually withdrawn, and a small 
number only remained to take care of the artillery and milita- 
ry stores. Captain Jonathan Eddy, a native of Massachusetts, 
who had lived many years in the vicinity of the fort, and was 
Sheriff of the County, conceiving that it might easily be reduc- 
ed, applied to the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, for 
men and supplies for that purpose ; but obtained nothing more 
than their connivance. He therefore returned to Nova Sco- 
tia, and by contributions first, and by persuasions promises and 
threats afterwards, had the address to raise about one hundred 
and fifty men. At Shepardy Hill he took a captain, sergeant 
and fourteen men prisoners, and the third night afterwards he 
took a vessel of one hundred tons, then lying aground, with 
six hundred barrels of beef and pork, a ton of candles, fifty 
firkins of butter, and seven hundred new blankets, all intended 
for the garnson, — a part of which, however, were retaken. He 
then collected his whole force, with the addition of some St. 
John Indians, and attacked the fort in the night, September 
27th ; but Colonel Gorham, the commander, having been re- 
inforced and apprized of the design, made a vigorous defence, 
killed several of the invaders, and completely repulsed the rest. 
Seldom is a defeat attended with more painful circumstances. 
Several of the inhabitants who had joined the assailants, soon 
saw their houses in flames, and their families in the deepest 
distress ; and, finding no alternative but either to surrender at 
discretion to an enraged enemy, or flee from the British terri- 



33 

tory, they chose the latter, and, leaving their families, took their 
route along the north shore, crossed the St. John river at 
Fredericton, thence to Schoodic and Machias, where they ar- 
rived half naked and famished, having been in the woods twen- 
ty-five days. Their families, who remained behind during a 
winter of severe suffering, many of them houseless and with- 
out the comforts and even necessaries of life, were brought 
away in the following spring, in a flag of truce. Eddy was 
afterwards a Colonel in the army, and the General Court, in 
1785, granted him, and nineteen of his associates, 9000 acres 
of land at the head of the tide on the Penobscot; and the 
town incorporated there in 1811, was, in compliment to him, 
called Eddington. 

Several of the refugees settled at Machias and Eastport, 
among whom were the late Colonel John Allan, of Lubec, 
and L. F. Delesdernier, Esq., who it is believed, is the last 
survivor. Congress afterwards, in consideration of their ser- 
vices and sufferings, made them liberal grants of land in the 
State of Ohio. 

The next year, 1777, the eastern department underwent a 
revision. Machias was made the place of general rendezvous 
and head-quarters, and a garrison, established there, and raised 
to a continental establishment. Colonel Allan was appointed 
general agent and superintendent, with the rank and pay of 
Colonel, Mr. Delesdernier was appointed a lieutenant, and 
some of the Indians were also commissioned as officers. The 
garrison consisted of three hundred men, with two nine-pound- 
ers, one six-pounder, and the necessary stores. The late 
Stephen Smith, Esq. was appointed truck-master or commis- 
sary, and the place put into the best state of defence. 

The expedition planned against Fort Cumberland and the 
general rendezvous established at Machias, were measures 
which could not be concealed from the British Admiral at 
New York ; and before the recruits had all assembled at Ma- 
chias, he sent two frigates and an armed brig to frustrate the 
design. They arrived in August, and anchored at the Nar- 
5 



34 

rows, where they burned a tide-water mill and took a coasting 
sloop. At the forks of the river, they burned two dwelling- 
houses, two barns, and a guard-house. They then towed the 
brig and sloop to the mouth of Middle River, near where the 
bridge now is. Here a smart action commenced, which re- 
sulted in forcing the vessels to return, with the loss of many 
men, as the narrowness of the river and the trees on its mar- 
gin, afforded shelter and good opportunity to pick off those 
who showed themselves on deck, with little danger to the as- 
sailants. Discouraged by the vigor and spirit of the resistance 
they met with, the squadron in a day or two left the place. 
Towards the close of the war, Mr. Delesdernier was decoyed 
on board an armed vessel, disguised as a trader, near Pleasant 
Point, and carried a prisoner to Halifax. On the 12th of 
June, Castine was taken possession of by the British, regular- 
ly fortified, and retained till the peace, though attempts were 
made to re-take it. This possession was, however, confined to 
the peninsula, and the command of the Penobscot, by means 
of their fleet. 

Hostilities being happily terminated by the acknowledg- 
ment of the Independence of the United States, their eastern 
boundary was established by the definitive treaty of peace, of 
September 3d, 1783, as follows : ' By a line to be drawn along 
the middle of the river St. Croix, from its mouth in the Bay 
of Fundy, to its source, and from its source, directly north to 
the highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlan- 
tic Ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence ; 
comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part 
of the shores of the United States, and lying south of a line 
to be drawn due east from the point where the aforesaid boun- 
dary touches the Bay of Fundy, excepting such islands as 
then were, or theretofore had been, within the limits of the 
Province of Nova Scotia.' 

Although the river St. Croix had been the boundary line" 
between nations, as well as individuals, and the adjacent terri- 
tory a subject of contention, negotiation and reference for 



35 

nearly two centuries, yet the location of the river, or the ques- 
tion, ' which was the true river St. Croix,' had never yet been 
settled or decided. But no sooner was the treaty concluded, 
than the more definite settlement of the eastern boundary at- 
tracted the attention, not only of the State of Massachusetts, 
but of the Congress of the United States. Complaint of en- 
croachments on our territory, south and west of the St. Croix, 
was made to the Old Congress, on the 25th of December, 
1783, even before the proclamation, ratifying the treaty of 
peace was issued, which was referred by Congress to the gov- 
ernment of Massachusetts, with a recommendation to ascer- 
tain the facts, make a representation thereof to the Governor 
of Nova Scotia, and to request his interposition to prevent 
their recurrence. The Governor of Massachusetts adopted 
the course recommended, and in July, 1784, appointed Gener- 
als Lincoln and Knox to repair to Passamaquoddy, and there 
inform themselves what encroachments had been made on the 
territories of the said State. These gentlemen performed the du 
ties assigned them, and reported that a very considerable number 
of British subjects had settled at a place called St. Andrews, 
on the eastern bank of the river Schoodic, which, in their opin- 
ion, was clearly within the limits of the State. They examin- 
ed the three rivers emptying into the bay, the Copscook, the 
Schoodic or Passamaquoddy, and the Macacadava, and were 
decidedly of opiuion that the latter was the true St. Croix. 

John Mitchell, in a deposition, declared that he was appoint- 
ed by Governor Bernard, in 1764, a surveyor, to repair to 
Passamaquoddy, with Israel Jones, his deputy, Nathan Jones, 
commanding a party of troops with an Indian interpreter, and 
ascertain, from the Indians resident there, the river known by 
the name of St. Croix; that they pointed out a river about six 
miles north, and about three degrees east of Harbor Letete, 
and declared on oath that it was the ancient and only river, 
known among them as the St. Croix. They proceeded in their 
surveys accordingly, and returned three plans of the said river 
St. Croix and Bay of Passamaquoddy to Governor Bernard. 



36 

Nathan Jones, in his deposition confirmed the foregoing facts. 
This, it should be remarked, was nearly twenty years before 
the peace, and whilst the whole country was the possession and 
the property of the British. Rufus Putnam, State-surveyor, 
who had thoroughly examined the country, made a long com- 
munication to the Government, and, after stating the facts and 
reasons at large, came to the same conclusion, that the Maca- 
cadava was the true St. Croix. 

The documents and evidence being forwarded to Congress, 
Mr. Jay, then Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in a report made 
by him, in September, 1785, recommended that' the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts be advised by Congress, to proceed 
without noise or delay to garrison such places in their actual 
possession as were most exposed.' The same report also rec- 
ommends to apprize the Court of France of the disputes in 
question, as His Most Catholic Majesty had, by treaty, expli- 
citly and perpetually guaranteed the United States in all their 
possessions. Remonstrances were made to the Governor of 
Nova Scotia on the subject, and negotiation with Great Brit- 
ain resorted to, instructions being sent out to Mr. J. Adams, 
then our Minister at the Court of London, to call the attention 
of the British Government to an early and definite location and 
settlement of the river St. Croix. On the 9th of February, 
1 700, a confidential message, relative to the boundary ques- 
tion, was transmitted to Congress, by President Washington, 
accompanied by a mass of papers, occupying nearly forty 
closely printed pages. By the fifth article of the treaty con- 
cluded November 19th, 1794, by Mr. Jay, provision was made 
for the appointment of commissioners, by the respective gov- 
ernments, to ' determine and settle what river was the St. 
Croix,' as mentioned in the treaty of 1783. 

The commissioners on the part of the United States, were 
Judges Howell and Benson, and on the part of Great Britain 
Colonel Thomas Barclay. The late Governor Sullivan, of 
Boston, and the late Judge Chipman of St. John, were the re- 
spective agents. They met at Halifax in September, 1796, 



37 

and preceded thence to Passamaquoddy in the execution of 
their commission. In the river Schoodic, and opposite to the 
northeast corner of what is now Robbinston, they found an 
island, corresponding in situation and aspect to the description 
given of the island St. Croix, by L'Escarbot, Charlevoix, and 
other early writers, and where de Mont's party passed the 
winter in 1604. President Webber, late of Harvard College, 
who accompanied the commissioners, says, ' Near the upper 
end of it were the remains of a very ancient fortification, over- 
grown with large trees ; that the foundation stones were traced 
to a considerable extent, and that bricks were found there. 
These remains were, undoubtedly, the reliques of de Mont's 
fortification.' It is a confirmatory circumstance, that clay is 
known to have been found and used there at the first settle- 
ment. L'Escarbot says, that ' M. de Potrincourt, when at 
Port Royal, in 1606, caused great quantities of bricks to be 
made, with which he made an open furnace.' 

On the 25th October, 1798, they made their report, in which 
they decided, that ' the mouth of the river St. Croix is ih Pas- 
samaquoddy Bay, at a projection of land called Joe's Point, 
about one mile northward from the northern part of St. An- 
drews Island, and in the latitude of 45° 5^ 5'' north, and in 
the longitude of 67° 12' 30^' west from London, 3° 54' 15'' 
east from Harvard College.' Then follows a description of a 
line up the river, to its source, where they fixed a permanent 
land-mark, now called the ' Monument.' 

The decision is thus communicated to Congress by the 
President in his opening speech, December 8, 1798 — ' The 
commissioners appointed to determine what river was truly in- 
tended under the name of the river St. Croix, mentioned in 
the treaty of peace, and forming a part of the boundary there- 
in described, have finally decided that question. On the 25th 
of October last, they made their declaration, that a river call- 
ed Schoodic, which falls into Passamaquoddy Bay at its north- 
western quarter, was the true St. Croix, intended in the treaty 
of peace, as far as its great fork, where one of its streams 



38 

come from the westward, and the other from the northward ; 
and that the latter stream is the continuation of the St. Croix 
to its source. This decision, it is understood, will preclude 
all contention among individual complainants, with regard to 
grants of land. A subordinate question, however, it has been 
suggested, still remains to be determined. Between the mouth 
of the river St. Croix, as now settled, and what is usually- 
called the Bay of Fundy, lie a number of valuable islands. 
The commissioners have not continued the boundary line 
through any channels of these islands ; and unless the Bay of 
Passamaquoddy be a part of the Bay of Fundy, this further 
adjustment will be necessary. But it is apprehended that this 
will not be a matter of any difficulty.' 

It will, however, appear in the sequel, that the President did 
not exercise his usual sagacity on this ' subordinate question 
about which it was apprehended there would be no difficulty.' 
Almost twenty years elapsed before it was adjusted ; and the 
greater part of that time was consumed in discussions and ne- 
gotiations between the two governments — a delay productive, 
in its results, of much misery and loss of property to the in- 
habitants of Passamaquoddy. 

In order to settle this question, which still remained at issue, 
to wit, the title to, and jurisdiction over these islands, (togeth- 
er with the northern and western boundaries,) a convention 
was entered into between Great Britain and the United States 
on the 12th of May, 1803, by which the line between the mouth 
of the St. Croix and the Bay of Fundy was agreed upon, and 
is stated in the first article as follows : — ' The line hereinafter 
described, shall and hereby is declared to be the boundary be- 
tween the mouth of the river St. Croix and the Bay of Fun- 
dy ; that is to say, — a line beginning in the middle of the chan- 
nel of the river St. Croix at its mouth, (as the same has been 
ascertained by the commissioners appointed for that purpose,) 
thence through the middle of the channel, between Deer Is- 
land on the east and north, and Moose Island and Campobello 
Island on the west and south, and round the eastern part of 

/ 



39 

Campobello to the Bay of Fundy ; and the islands and waters 
northward and eastward of the said boundary, together with 
the island of Campobello, situate to the southward thereof, are 
hereby declared to be within the jurisdiction, and a part of 
His Majesty's Province of New Brunswick ; and the islands 
and waters southward and westward of ihe said boundary, ex- 
cept only the island of Campobello, are hereby declared to be 
within the jurisdiction and a part of Massachusetts, one of the 
United States.' In the instructions to Mr. King, who negotiat- 
ed this convention, is the following sentence ; — 'The essential 
objects to be secured to the United States, are the jurisdiction 
of Moose Island, and the common navigation of the Bay, and 
of the channels leading towards the sea, between Deer Island 
and the island of Campobello.' The eighth article of this 
convention contained a provision for the settlement of the line 
from the Lake of the Woods, to the nearest source of the riv- 
er Mississippi ; but the Senate of the Unhed States, not ap- 
proving of this last article, the convention was not ratified. 

Messrs. Munroe and Pinckney, on the 31st of December, 
1806, concluded a treaty with the British Government, in 
which the boundary line on the eastern frontier was agreed 
upon, in nearly the same words ; but President Jefferson, dis- 
liking some of the provisions contained in it, did not submit it 
to the Senate for their approval ; of course, the whole subject 
remained in statu quo, unsettled and undetermined. 

Had the commissioners, who decided which was the St. 
Croix, continued the line between the islands to the sea, as 
they were urged to do by the agent of the United States, but 
which they declined ' on an idea that their commission extend- 
ed no further than to an authority to find the mouth and source 
of the river,' or had the convention or treaty last mentioned 
been ratified, and so the title and jurisdiction settled over the 
islands, the capture of Eastport during the late war would not, 
probably, have taken place ; or, if it had, it would have been 
restored shortly after the peace, and not retained for four years, 
while the title was under discussion. Great Britain always 



40 

considered the islands In this bay as absolutely belonging to 
her ; and during a conference between the Ministers of the res- 
pective Governments for negociating the late treaty of peace, 
on the 19th of August, 1814, their Ministers were asked by 
ours, ' what were particularly her views with respect to Moose 
Island, and such other islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy, 
as had been in our possession till the present war, but had been 
lately captured. They were answered, that those islands, be- 
longing of right to Great Britain, (as much so, said one of the 
commissioners, as Northamptonshire, an inland county in 
England,) they would certainly be kept by her, and were not 
even supposed to be an object of discussion.' However, un- 
der the fourth article of the treaty of Ghent, concluded De- 
cember 24th, 1814, the title to and jurisdiction of the islands 
in the Bay of Passamaquoddy were submitted to two com- 
missioners. Colonel Thomas Barclay, on the part of Great 
Britain, and Hon. John Holmes, on the part of the Unit- 
ed States, who met at St. Andrews, September 23d, 1816, 
opened the commission, and adjourned from time to time, and 
from place to place, 'till the 24th of November, 1817, when 
they met at New York, and made their final report and award, 
' that Moose Island, Dudley Island, and Frederic Island, in the 
Bay of Passamaquoddy do belong to the United States,' and 
that ' all the other islands in that bay, and the island of Grand 
Menan in the Bay of Fundy, belong to his Britannic Majesty, 
in conformity with the true intent of the second article in the 
treaty of 1783.' And on the 30th of June, 1818, General 
Miller, on behalf of the United States, and Colonel Sargent, on 
behalf of Massachusetts, received from the British a formal 
surrender of those islands, to the great joy of the inhabitants, 
who were relieved from the operation of martial law, restored 
to the exercise of their civil rights, and made a component 
part of a great and prosperous nation. 

In connexion with the subject of jurisdiction over the islands 
in this bay, particularly Moose Island, I will refer to a letter 
from James Avery, Esq., then of Machias, and an officer of 



41 

excise, to Governor Bowdoin, at Boston, dated August 23d, 
1785. Among other things he says, 'A few days ago, Mr. 
Wyer, high sheriff for Charlotte County, posted up advertise- 
ments on Moose Island, directing the inhabitants to attend the 
courts at St. Andrews. This alarmed them, as they were 
threatened, in case of their refusal, to be deprived of their es- 
tates. Since this matter has taken place, I was up at St. An- 
drews, and had a long conversation with Mr. Wyer, the high 
sheriff, Mr. Pagan, and other principal persons. They say 
they acted by the advice of Judge Ludlow, (then Chief Jus- 
tice of New Brunswick,) who is of opinion that all the islands 
in the Bay of Passamaquoddy belonged to New Brunswick, 
and are determined to support their claim, and should the in- 
habitants refuse to obey their summons, they may depend on 
being punished.' Persevering efforts were made to extend 
and exercise jurisdiction here. Constables and other officers 
were appointed by the Court of Sessions at St. Andrews, but 
I do not find that any offices were accepted, or that any jurors 
attended, though required to do so. Summonses and other 
civil processes were sent here for service : and to test the ques- 
tion, Mr. Samuel Tutde was actually arrested, carried to St. 
Andrews, and there committed to jail, (December, 1785.) 
But he was steady and persevering in his refusal to submit to 
their authority, and, after three days confinement, was discharg- 
ed. Several instances occurred in which the sheriff from St. 
Andrews attempted to serve process here, even after the or- 
ganization of this county, and once a personal rencontre took 
place between the sheriffs of the two counties, relative to the 
exercise of their respective offices, in which the sheriff of 
Charlotte County reluctantly abandoned his purpose and retir- 
ed. It appears by our town records, that a town-meeting was 
called on the 27th of July, 1801, ' To consider on the situa- 
tion we are in, respecting the dispute between Great Britain 
and the United States of America, in regard to the claims of 
jurisdiction on Moose Island, and to take such methods for an 
explanation as may be thought proper and expedient to quiet 
6 



42 

the inhabitants.' No steps however appear to have been taken 
in consequence, as the article was passed over at the meeting. 
From this time the question seems to have rested, so far as 
the people here took a part in it, or were affected by it, till 
the capture of the island, and the subsequent decision under 
the treaty of Ghent. 

Two hundred and thirty years have now elapsed since this 
vicinity was first visited by Europeans with a view to a perma- 
nent settlement. 

Long anterior to the actual settlement of the Bay of Pas- 
samaquoddy, which is an Indian name, signifying ' Pollock 
Fish,' its shores, rivers and inlets had been frequented by fish- 
ermen, who found an ample remuneration for their labors, in 
the abundance of their fares. Formerly the fur trade also had 
been a profitable one. But the hunters were so muliiplied, 
and the destruction of wild game so great in the northern 
woods of Maine, that it was found necessary to preserve, by 
law, the lives of those fine furred animals, at seasons when 
their coats were thin, and their offspring young ; and the Gen- 
eral Court, by a law passed June 10, 1791, made it penal, in 
the sum of ten dollars, to kill or take any otter, beaver, mink, 
sable or martin, fisher or black-cat, lucifer, musquash or wol- 
verin, from the first of June to the first of October. The ex- 
tensive marshes bordering on the Narraguagus, Pleasant and 
Machias rivers, and even those at the head of the Bay of Fun- 
dy, were much resorted to for the hay they afforded, and 
which was transported to the westward. Lumber, both as an 
article of domestic consumption, and for exportation, was early 
sought after. 

Machias, from ' Mechises,' the Indian name of the river, 
seems to have attracted considerable attention ever since its 
situation first fell under the eye of visitants, whether French 
or English. In 1633, the Plymouth Colonists established a 
trading-house there ; the French attempted a settlement in 
1644 and since that time. But the effectual settlement, or 
rather revival of this plantation, is traced to incidents which oc- 



43 

curred in 1761 and 1762, when it, was visited by people from 
Scarborough, for the purpose of cutting hay in the marshes. 
Mill-sites were then selected, and in May, 1763, sixteen associ- 
ates removed thither from Scarborough, and erected saw-mills 
on the west branch. In 1765, saw-mills were erected on the 
east branch by B. Foster and his neighbors. Before the year 
1770, several others were erected on both branches, and one 
on Middle River, and that year the township was granted to 
eighty individuals by name, so that the place soon rose into 
importance. It was incorporated in 1784, and is the oldest 
town east of the Penobscot River. The first minister of the 
gospel there, was Rev. James Lyon, who commenced his la- 
bors there in 1771, and continued nearly thirty-two years. ^ 
The late Judge Jones was an acting magistrate there, under 
King George III., prior to the Revolution. 

The first grants of land east of Penobscot River, made by 
Massachusetts, were in 1762, of twelve townships, three of 
which, now Steuben, Harrington and Addison, fell within this 
county and were conditional, but were confirmed in 1785. 
The whole island of Mount Desert, granted to Governor Ber- 
nard in 1762, had been confiscated. One half, however, was 
restored to his son in 1785, in consequence of his unchanging 
adherence to the American cause, during the war. An unex- 
pected claim for the rest, was made by the heirs of La Motte 
Cadillac, under a patent made to him by the French King, in 
April, 1691. It would have been too obsolete and antiquated to 
be regarded, but the government was so well disposed ' to culti- 
vate mutual confidence and union between the subjects of His 
Most Christian Majesty and the citizens of this State,' that the 
General Court first naturalized the petitioners, and then quit- 
claimed all the interest of the State, to them, reserving only to 

* He had a singular defect of vision, in being unable to distinguish be- 
tween the colors of black and red ; and he once purchased a piece of scar- 
let cloth for the purpose of making himself a coat, thinking it to be black, 
until apprised by his wife that it would be a much more suitable uniform 
for a British officer, than for a dress coat for a clergyman. 



44 

actual settlers, lots of one hundred acres each. The same 
year the General Court granted No. 3, now Charlotte, to 
the representatives of Captain William Tyng, and his compa- 
ny, in consideration of their services and sufferings, during a 
dangerous pursuit of the Indian enemy, upon snow shoes, in 
the first winter of Queen Anne's war, in 1704. In 17S6, fif- 
ty townships between the Penobscot and Schoodic, being 
about 1,100,000 acres, were disposed of by lottery, every 
ticket, at £60, drawing a prize of half a mile square, to a 
whole township. Among these were the towns of Cooper, 
Alexander, Crawford and others, in the eastern part of this 
county. 

In 1782, Courts of Common Pleas were established in the 
several counties, in Massachusetts, with jurisdiction of all ac- 
tions above forty shillings, which, two years afterwards, was en- 
larged to four pounds. There being then but three counties 
in Maine, the nearest Court was at Pownalborough, now Wis- 
casset. About this time, the people eastward of the Penobscot 
petitioned the General Court to enlarge the jurisdiction of Jus- 
tices of the Peace among them, to £10, and to establish the 
usual County Courts in that quarter, with the right of appeal 
to the Supreme Court at Boston. The records of the Su- 
preme Judicial Court were all kept at Boston, till the year 
1797, when they were distributed to the several counties. 

The County of Washington was organized in the Spring of 
1790, with a Court of Common Pleas at Machias, which set 
twice a year for three years ; after which there was but one 
term annually, till 1807, when a second term was added. 

In 1783, the Supreme Court was held once a year in each 
of the Counties of York and Cumberland. In 1786, a term 
of that Court was established at Wiscasset — in 1800, at Cas- 
tine, and in 1821, at Machias. There were probably not so 
many inhabitants in the whole County of Washington, at its 
organization in 1790, (being 2758,) as there are now in the 
town of Eastport. 



45 

The question of separation of Maine from Massachusetts 
was first agitated in 1785. To aid the object, the Fahnouth 
Gazetta was estabhshed at Portland, being the first newspaper 
printed in this State. But the project was opposed both by 
the Governor and General Court, and was abandoned in 1787, 
on finding that the votes were only three hundred and forty-nine 
in favor, and six hundred and forty-five against it. It was revised 
again in 1816, when the votes were for it 11,969, and against it 
10,347, which not being five-ninths of the whole number given 
in, it did not prevail. It was again called up in 1819, when the 
votes were, yeas 9959, nays 7132. A convention was called 
on the llth of October, a constitution formed, which being af- 
terward approved by the people, Maine became a separate 
State on the 15th of March, 1820. The votes in this town, 
in 1819, were, for separation one hundred and forty-seven, 
and against it five. The town did not act at all in the former 
trials. 

The oldest city in New England, if not in the United 
States, was in the State of Maine. The settlement at Aga- 
menticus, now the town of York, was made a city, March, 
1st, 1642, with a mayor, recorder, twelve aldermen, twenty- 
four common councilmen and other officers. Winthrop, in his 
Journal, contemptuously says, they have ' lately made Aga- 
menticus, a poor village, a corporation, and a tailor their may- 
or.' In 1644, a woman was tried in the mayor's court for the 
murder of her husband, condemned and executed. The city 
lasted about ten years under the name of ' Georgiana,' when it 
was changed to a town by the name of York. 

The earliest permanent settlement in this Bay, was made 
on Campobello, at Harbor de Lute, or Otter Harbor, as the 
name imports, prior to the Revolutionary War, by the Campo- 
bello Company, and a considerable trade was carried on there. 
St. Andrews was settled about 1784, principally by loyalists 
from the United States. 

Eastport, Moose Island, is situated in the Bay of Passama- 
quoddy, between the main land, on the westward and south- 



46 

ward, and the British islands of Deer Island, Indian Island, 
and Campobello on the northward and eastward. It lies S. 
E. and N. W., is four and a half miles in length from the salt- 
works to the bridge, and it nowhere exceeds one mile and a 
quarter in breadth. The exterior form is extremely irregular, 
and its surface diversified with swells, hills and valleys, con- 
taining about 1910 acres. It is the smallest town in territorial 
extent, in the State. The village is pleasantly situated on the 
southerly and easterly part of the island, facing the harbor, 
which is safe and capacious, being entirely land-locked. It 
presents a fine view, particularly in approaching it from the 
eastward : there is a regular ascent from the water to the rear 
of the village. From the garrison, on Fort Hill, are present- 
ed some delightful views and landscapes for the pencil of the 
painter, as well as the admirers of nature. All vessels arriv- 
ing and departing, are seen to great advantage, and the many 
Islands scattered over the bay, add greatly to the beauty of the 
scenery. Todd's Head, so called, is the easternmost point of 
land in the United States. The temperature is variable, sub- 
ject, to frequent and sudden changes, and in summer particu- 
larly, the air is humid. It is about 10'^ warmer in winter and 
cooler in summer, than it is at Dennysville or Calais, probably 
owing to its insular situation, and the prevalence of foggy 
weather. It is healthy, nor is there any disease peculiar to 
this part of the country. The great mass of the population is 
at present under the middle age ; but there are many instances 
of longevity among our predecessors. It is believed there are 
now living about eighteen persons, who were heads of fami- 
lies here in 1800; of these three are widowers, five widows, 
and there are five instances in which both the husband and 
wife are living. The annual number of deaths, including cas- 
ualties, is believed to be from seventy to seventy-five. 

The earliest settlers of Eastport were principally fishermen 
from Lynn, Marblehead, Cape Ann, Newburyport, Ports- 
mouth and its vicinity, who located themselves on Moose Isl- 
and for their greater convenience in taking and curing fish, 



47 

about the close of the Revolutionary War. Of the settlers 
prior to the year 1790, very few remain, and they are totter- 
ing under the weight of years. It is worthy of remark, that, 
almost without exception, they attained to a great age, most of 
them beyond three-score and ten, and several more than four- 
score. Mr. Shackford and Mr. Tuttle came here in the fall 
of 1783, when there were but five families on the island, and, 
it is believed, siill fewer at Lubec. In 1790, there were about 
twenty-one or twenty-two famihes on the island ; and all the 
settlers up to that period, and even later, were cinzens of the 
United States, with one or two exceptions. 

The settlement on the main, now Lubec, was somewhat 
later, and by a different class of persons, being cultivators of 
the soil, and resorting to boat-fishery, to supply the deficiency 
of their agricultural pursuits. They were from Lynn, Golds- 
borough and the vicinity of Castine. 

There were also several families from Cumberland, at the 
head of the Bay of Fundy, who, after the unsuccessful at- 
tack on the fort there, abandoning their homes, property and 
friends, joined the colonies in the war for independence. Two 
of these yet survive ; the rest have descended to the grave. 
The survivors are L. F. Delesdernier, Esq., and Captain 
Benjamin Reynolds, each aged eighty-two years. 

The history of land titles in Eastport and Lubec is different 
from that of any town in the county, and probably in the State. 
Most of the townships in the State, especially since the grant 
of large tracts, one hundred and fifty to two hundred years 
ago, have been granted to individuals, to companies, or to lit- 
erary institutions, and fifty disposed of by lottery. The town- 
ship No. 8, now Eastport and Lubec, had never been dis- 
posed of by the State ; and the settlers, for the first ten or 
twelve years, were, what are usually called squatters, that is, 
persons entering upon and occupying lands to which they have 
no title, nor any agreement with the owner to purchase, and 
without his consent. 



48 

By a resolve passed by the General Court, June 18, 1791, 
a confimittee of five persons was appointed to lay out the whole 
township into lots of one hundred acres each -, (which was done 
by Mr. Solomon Gushing, between that lime and 1809, or 18- 
10, in six divisions,) so as best to include the improvements of 
each settler ; and the land agents gave a deed of a lot to each, 
on payment of five dollars, (and the expenses of the survey,) 
and afterwards, by subsequent resolves, to later settlers ; then 
to their sons, and to others so late as 1810, or 1812, on pay- 
ment of the same sum and interest. These deeds were given 
in pursuance of certificates granted by the land committee 
here; so that the title to all the lands in Eastport and Lu- 
bec is derived directly from the State to individuals ; except a 
few lots in Lubec, which were not taken up, and which were 
sold at auction by the land agents of Massachusetts and Maine, 
since the separation. Moose Island, being the first division, 
was surveyed and run out into twenty-four lots. One only of 
the original lots remains entire, and that is still in the hands of 
the original grantee, Jacob Lincoln. 

It is justly a matter of surprise and regret that the streets in 
the town are so irregular and contracted, and so ill adapted to 
the wants and conveniences of the inhabitants. The reason 
to be assigned for it, is probably this, that the early set- 
tlers did not look, prospectively, to the growth and improve- 
ment of the town, and did not anticipate its future size and 
populaUon. They consulted convenience in selecting places 
for the prosecution of their business, rather than order and reg- 
ularity in laying out the town. A log-house erected at a small 
expense, and perhaps a smoke and fish house to cure their fish, 
claimed their first attention, and sufficed for them. Their ob- 
ject seemed to be present personal convenience, and they built as 
that convenience required, without looking to the future, till the 
land, especially near the shore, became so valuable that it could 
not be obtained for the public accommodation. Besides, they 
thought of no other mode of conveyance or travelling, than 
by water; then boats comprised, or were rather substitutes for 



49 

horses and carriages of every description ; and I well remember 
the surprise, curiosity and even fear, excited by a horse that was 
brought on the island in 1804. Foot-paths through the woods, 
or stumps, were the only communication by land, or substitute 
for highways. The road from the bridge to Dennysville was 
laid out about 1S06. I was the first person who went from 
here to Macliias, the whole distance by land, in August of that 
year. The road to Robbinston was opened two or three years 
later ; before that, it was necessary to go on the beach, by the 
shore. 

The first road laid out in Eastport, was in 1799, nearly 
twenty years after the first settlement, but it was done in so 
vague and indefinite a manner, that it would be impossible to 
say where it was. The return of the road, as made by the se- 
lectmen, reads thus : — ' Beginning at Mr. James Cochran's 
spring, between Captain Prince's house, and the house of Mr. 
Henry Waid now lives in, and running northerly between said 
Cochran's house and his old hovel, and just to the westward 
of Mr. Samuel Tuttle's barn, through the corner of his pota- 
toe field, to the west corner of Mr. Sliackford's field — through 
Mr. Shackford's field west of the new fence — through Mr. 
Boynton's and Mr. Henry Poor's land to the notch in Mr. 
William Clark's mountain, so called — through said notch,' he. 
&;c. to the upper end of the island. The next was Water 
Street, from Mr. Shackford's to Mr. Todd's north line, (near 
the poor-house,) in October, 1803, twenty-four feet wide. 
Boynton Street was laid out in 1804, Key Street in 1805, 
Washington Street in 1807. Gates and bars were suffered to 
remain across the roads 'till the Spring of 1808, when, by a 
vote of the town, they were ordered to be removed. There 
are now about twelve miles of roads and streets in the town, 
covering about fifty-nine acres. 

A gradual, and, at certain periods, a rapid increase in wealth 

and population, has taken place, from the first settlement. The 

plantation No. 8, was incorporated into a town by the name 

of Eastport, in February, 1798, and included Lubec, which 

7 



50 

was set off as a separate town In June, 1811 : it is the fifth 
town incorporated in the county. There are now thirty towns. 
The number of families in 1785 was ten or twelve, and the 
number of the inhabitants about seventy-five. In 1790, there 
were about twenty-one or twenty-two famihes on Moose Isl- 
and, and twelve to fifteen on the main land, and 244 inhabit- 
ants — having more than trebled in five years. In 1800, there 
were 563 — having more than doubled in ten years. In 1810, 
1511 — having almost trebled in ten years. In 1820, Eastport 
had 1937, and Lubec 1430, making 33G7, more than double 
in these ten years. In 1830, Eastport had 2450, and Lubec 
1535, making 3985 — exhibiting a gain, in the last tenyears, of 
seven and one third per cent, in Lubec, and of twenty-six and 
one half per cent, in Eastport. 

About ten or twelve years elapsed before a framed dwelling- 
house was erected in the town. The first was built by a Mr. 
Curry, near where the widow Herrington now lives, but was 
soon taken down. The next was built by Mr. Shackford, and 
was standing till very recently. The oldest house now stand- 
ing, was believed to be in Water Street, near the bottom of 
Boynton Street. The first two-story dwelling-houses, were 
those built by Captain Leavitt, near the salt-works, and by 
Colonel Shead, now Mr. Nathan Bucknam's, in the year 1802. 
The next by Mr. Earl, now Mr. Jacob Grold's, and by Mr. 
Hayden in 1805 ; the fifth by Judge Burgin, now General 
Peavey's, in 1807. 

There are no data to show the progressive improvements 
and cultivation of the land, either as to the manner or quanti- 
ty. The valuations of 1800, 1810, and 1820, for State pur- 
poses, cannot be found. 

The account of property, as taken in the summer of 1830, 
for the State valuation, states it to be 126 acres of tillage, 
yielding 15 bushels of corn, 530 of oats, and 9636 bushels of 
potatoes. — 358 acres of mowing, producing 304 tons of hay. — 
482 acres of pasturage, 218 of wood-land, 488 of unimprov- 
ed land, 139 acres of waste or unimproveable land, and about 



51 

40 acres in house lots, gardens, &z;c — 209 dwelling-houses, 72 
barns, 34 stores and shops, 1 1 ware-houses, 2 brick-yards, 1 
ship-yard, 117,530 superficial feet of wharf, 45 horses, 25 
pair of oxen, 150 cows, 23 young cattle, 101 sheep. There 
are now about 15 dwelling-houses standing, of those built 30 
years ago. 

Great attention has been bestowed on the subject of educa- 
tion. Primary instruction in our schools has been an object 
of paramount consideration, and carefully attended to by the 
inhabitants, to the full extent of their ability. The town was 
early divided into school districts, of which there were three 
on Moose Island. The inhabitants on the main land, object- 
ing to raise much money by the town for schools, as they could 
not be much benefited by it, owing to their thin and scattered 
population, application was made to the General Court for 
power to raise money by the districts, on JMoose Island, for the 
support of schools, in addition to the sums raised by the town, 
which was granted by an act passed February 28, 1807, tiie 
first of the kind ever passed, but which has since been follow- 
ed by many similar ones, in different parts of the State. 
There are four public school-houses in the south school 
district, which embraces all that part of the town southward of 
the old burying-ground, and money has been raised for build- 
a fifth. There are also four private school-houses, besides the 
two in Trescott Hall, where instruction is given in the higher 
branches of education, to youth of both sexes, separate from 
each other. But all these are inadequate to the accommoda- 
tion of the scholars, and several rooms in private houses are 
occupied as places of instruction. The number of scholars, 
between the ages of 4 and 21, is, in the north district, 70; in 
the middle district, 84 ; and in the south district, 970 ; making 
a total of 1124. 

Connected with the subject of education, I would mention 
the Eastport Athenaeum, now an incorporated institution, com- 
menced about thirteen years since, by a few young men, who 
associated for the purpose of procuring some of the best peri- 



52 

odical publications of the day, as "well as standard works of 
literature and taste, under the name of the ' Club.' Their 
numbers soon increased, and there are now about 40 mem- 
bers, with a well-selected library of about 900 volumes, which 
is annually increasing, and a considerable number of elegant 
and spirited engravings adorn their room. It is highly credit- 
able to the proprietors, and beneficial to the public, by diffus- 
ing information, and creating a taste for reading in the commu- 
nity. 

There are two printing-offices, one established in 1818, the 
other in 1828, each of which has since issued a weekly news- 
paper; and, connected with one of these,' is a reading-room, 
where may be found papers printed in most of the States in 
the Union. 

In 1794, a house for public worship was erected by a few 
individuals, at the bend of the road, a little north of the bury- 
ing-ground, and religious instruction given there, till 1814; 
not however permanently, but by missionaries and itinerant 
preachers ; and, for a number of years, probably one half the 
hearers were from the main land and neighboring islands. On 
the 21st of August, 1800, a town-meeting was held, 'to see 
if the town will agree to give Mr, James Murphy, of Steuben, 
a call to settle in said town, as minister of the gospel, and 
maintain him by a town tax.' The vote on the question was 
in the negative. 

In 1807, an association of eighteen persons, without regard 
to theological differences of opinion, purchased a lot of land 
where the Baptist meeting-house now stands, and procured 
materials for a large house of public worship ; but the passage 
of the Embargo laws in the winter of 1807 — 8, defeated the 
object, and the materials were disposed of. In 1811, a simi- 
lar association purchased the land where the Unitarian meeting- 
house now stands, and agreed with a Mr. Hovey to erect a 
house there in 1812. The house was framed at Machias, 
and nearly prepared for raising, but the declaration of war 
in June, 1812, again defeated the object. The Unitarian and 



53 

Free-will-Baptist meeting-houses were erected in 1819 ; the 
Baptist house in 1820, the Central meeting-house and Roman 
Catholic chapel, in 1828. 

The Rev. Hosea Wheeler was settled over the Baptist 
church and society, October 9, 1822, and died January 27, 
1823. The Rev. Charles Robinson was ordained over the 
Unitarian society, October 30, 1822, and dismissed by mutual 
consent, April 5, 182$I The Rev. Wakefield Gale was or- 
dained over the Central Church and society, February 19, 
1829. The Rev. Edward H. Edes was ordained over the 
Unitarian Church and society November 15, 1832. The two 
last named still continue their pastoral relations. There has 
been no other settled minister in the town. The other socie- 
ties are usually supplied from year to year, or by missionaries, 
without a permanent settlement. 

The oldest church is the Baptist, organized August 8, 1798, 
and has about 115 members. The other Baptist church was 
organized April 30, 1810, and has about 115 members. The 
Central Church, February 8, 1819, and has about 67 members, 
and the Unitarian, the 25th of February, 1821, and has 
about 40 members. 

No documents remain to show the expenditures or expenses 
of the plantation, prior to the incorporation of the town, or, 
indeed, of the amount raised or expended for any purpose, till 
the year 1799. In that year, it was voted to raise $50, for 
powder and camp equipage, $13.60, for sealed weights and 
measures, and $30, for expense of town officers, &;c. In 
1800, $50 was voted for town charges. For 10 years after 
the town was incorporated, all bills against the town were ex- 
amined and allowed at the annual town-meetings. In 1801, 
the amount allowed was $15.91, which included $8, for re- 
cording births and deaths. In 1802, $16.78. In 1803, 
$82.49, including $35 for one pauper. In 1804, $63.33, 
including $24.48 for one pauper. In 1805, $111.64, in- 
cluding $68.14 forpoor. In 1806, $83.68, including $28.93 
for one pauper. In 1807, the total was $125.04, and in 



54 

1608, ^117.42. These sums included all, but what was 
raised for roads, schools, he. In 1810, 17^ per cent, discount 
was allowed to those living on Moose Island, and 37j per 
cent, to those on the main, on payment of their taxes within 
30 days. 

The annual State tax for this town, up to 1800, was ^20. 
Thence to 1810, $78.66. From 1810 to 1820, $120.89. 
Since the separation, from 1820 to 1830, the average has been 
$390.42; and since 1830, $327.87, annually. The annual 
average of the county tax up to 1820 cannot be ascertained 
with any degree of accuracy. From 1820 to 1830, the low- 
est was $507.34, the highest $931.92, and the annual aver- 
age, $665.85. During these 10 years, this town paid more 
than one sixth part of the whole county taxes. Since 1830, the 
annual average has been $481.09. The ratio has increased 
from:| of one per cent, to $1.tVo^j or nearly 2 percent, on the 
valuation or inventory, besides the poll-taxes. For the last 
15 years, the lowest tax assessed on the town, was $3,776.02, 
the highest $7,498.04, exhibiting an aggregate of $78,652.- 
59, and an average of $5,243.50 for each year. These sums, 
however, do not include what is paid for the support of the 
ministry, for private schools, and the great variety of other 
purposes for which money is voluntarily paid or contributed, 
and which probably amounts to an equal sum. 

The State of political feeling was very fluctuating for sever- 
al years after the incorporation of the town. The first vote 
was for State officers in April, 1799, when Strong, the federal 
candidate, received the whole, 28, for Governor. In 1800, 
Strong 11, and his opponent, Gerry, 29. In 1801, Strong re- 
ceived the whole, 44. In 1802, Strong 22, and Gerry 9. In 
1803, Strong received the whole, 46 ; yet in November, of the 
same year, the votes for elector of President, were 30, to 5 
on fl^e other side. Again in 1 804, Strong received the whole, 
38. In 1805, Strong 23, Sullivan 32. In 1806, Strong and 
Sullivan each 27. From 1807 to 1813, there was a demo- 
cratic majority, nearly as 3 to 2. In 1814, Strong had 68 






65 

votes, one more than his opponent, Mr. Dexter. The highest 
number of votes given, was in 1812, being 173. Eastport was 
first represented in the Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1807, 
by Colonel Shead, and again in 1S09 and 1810. In 1811, by 
Messrs. Shead and Delesdernier. In 1812, by Messrs. De- 
lesdernier and Leland. In 1813, by Mr. Weston ; and, in 
1819, by Mr. Bartlett. 

The town has not been exempt from loss of property and 
life by fire, though it has suffered less than might have been 
expected from its exposure to that element. The first build- 
ing burnt was a log house, near the late Mr. Kendall's, in which 
a child of the late Mr. Waid was burnt. The next was the 
house of Joseph Prince, Esq., on the site of the one occupied 
by Mr. Rice, at the salt-works, in which IMr. Prince and two 
of his children were burnt, (February, 1803.) The rest were 
the guard-house, in the winter of 1814, or 15, in which two 
soldiers were burnt ; the stores of the late Mr. Kendall, and 
the large one of Mr. Hathaway ; the houses of Mrs. Bowman, 
Mr. Norwood, Mr. Whitney, Mrs. Trask, Mr. Pote, and of 
S. Bucknam, Esq., also a school-house standing on the site of 
the large one in High Street. The aggregate loss of property 
by fire is estimated at about f 12,000 to .$15,000. 

The records of the town present some singular entries. At 
a meeting held in 1798, it was 'voted, that money should be 
raised for procuring powder, balls, flints and camp-ketdes, 
agreeable to law, for the militia and defence of the town.' 
' Voted, there shall be sixpence in the pound allowed the col- 
lector, receiving and paying such money, as comes into his 
hands for taxes.' But no money was actually raised during 
the year for any purpose whatever. At the same meeting, 
the record proceeds, ' a letter was presented to the moderator 
fi-om the foreman of the Grand Jury, informing the Selectmen 
that a presentment had been made against the town, for neg- 
lecting to procure ammunition, &-c., according to law. After 
some conversation respecting the subject, it was voted, that the 
Selectmen answer the letter in behalf of the town, and that 



56 

the inhabitants view it as an insult that any such presentment 
should be made in so short a time after incorporation, when ev- 
ery exertioi} had been made to furnish such requisitions, some 
of which are actually laid in ; and that this sentiment of the in- 
habitants, should be entered upon the records.' On the same 
day, is the following entry in the records, ' The Selectmen 
called upon the meeting to, bring in their votes, when upon 
their being sorted and counted, the candidates and votes stood 
as follows, viz. Henry Dearborn 30 votes, Silas Lee no votes ; 
when the Selectmen proclaimed Henry Dearborn a majority 
of the town.' But no mention is made of any office. Again, 
the record of another meeting is as follows, ' The wind be- 
ing violent and boisterous, prevented the meeting at the time 
appointed, on motion and seconded, ]Mr. Oliver Shead was 
chosen moderator, Sic' I will make one more extract of some 
interest from the records. From 1800, to 1810, inclusive, 
there were 181 couples published, being an average of 16^ 
couples each year. From 1810 to 1820, 227 couples ; aver- 
age 22/^. From 1820 to 1830, 337 couples ; average 33/^. 
For the last 3 years, 135 couples ; average 45 — and making 
a grand total of 880 couples. 

A bridge, connecting Moose Island with the main land at 
Perry, was built in 1820 : its length is upwards of 1200 feet, 
and cost ^'10,000. A second, connecting the island with the 
main, at Pleasant Point by Carlow's Island, built in 1832, is 
about 1902 feet in length, and cost $10,000. 

Fort Sullivan was built in 1808, under the superintendence 
of the late Major Trescott, and a company of United States 
troops were first stationed here in the Spring of that year, un- 
der the command of Captain Swett. Large additions were made 
to the works by the British, after the capture of the island j 
many of these additions have, however, since been removed. 

A Post-Office was established at Passamaquoddy in 1794, 
and Mr. Delesdernier appointed Post-Master, who kept his 
office at the Narrows, (Lu&ecPoint.) The mail then came 
once a fortnight : it was necessarily brought on foot, and the 



67 

carrier's coat-pocket answered all the purposes of a modem 
mail-bag. That office was discontinued in 1805. A Post-Of- 
fice was established on the island in 1802, and Colonel Shead 
appointed Post-Master : the mail then arrived weekly. In 
1823, it arrived twice, in 1821 three times a week, and in 
1833, daily. 

Extensive salt works were established at the southern ex- 
tremity of the island in 1828, where are manufactured more 
than 1000 bushels of salt, daily, from the mineral, imported in 
its crude state. These works give employment to a great num- 
ber of hands, and circulate a very considerable amount among 
the laboring class of the community. 

The district of Passamaquoddy was established in 1790, 
and L. F. Delesdernier, (who had previously been naval offi- 
cer under Massachusetts,) was appointed Collector. On the 1st 
of July, 1803, it was made a port of entry for foreign vessels. 
In 1804, there were only three vessels owned in Eastport, 
then including Lubec, altogether about 85 tons. In J 810, the 
number of vessels or tonnage cannot be ascertained. In 1820, 
the number of vessels is not known, but the number of tons 
was 623. In 1830 there were 28 vessels, exceeding 3000 
tons. Since the island was given up by the British, in 1818 
to 1830, and chiefly within 8 or 9 years of the last date, there 
was built on the island 21 vessels, measuring 2208 tons, and 
averaging 105 tons each ; and in other parts of the district, in the 
same period, 26 vessels, measuring 3800, averaging 146 tons 
each, — in all exceeding 6000 tons. During the last three years, 
there were built in the whole district, 42 vessels, averaging 151 
tons each, making an aggregate of 6361 tons. On the first of 
January last, there were permanently registered, enrolled and 
licensed, in this district, 3 ships, 16 brigs, 80 schooners, 9 sloops, 
1 steamboat, making in all 109 vessels, and 10,180 tons. It will 
be a matter of surprise to many to learn, that, with all the trade 
and business of the place, only three vessels entered here from 
any foreign port or place, except the adjoining British provinces, 
till after July, 1821. These were the sloop Sumner, in 1804 
8 



58 

or 1805, from the West Indies, with rum, sugar, Uc. The 
brig Eliza Anne from Cadiz, in 1816, in ballast, and the 
British ship Protector from Liverpool, in 1820, with salt. 

Since 1821, the foreign trade has greatly increased. The 
following table exhibits the number of entries at the Custom- 
House, and the tonnage, both of American and foreign vessels, 
for the last ten years, the most part from the Provinces, the 
reraainiier from Liverpool and the West Indies. 



Years. 


American Entries. 


Tons. 


Foreign Entries. 


Tons. Total Entries. 


1824 


139 


7,333,12 


5 


943,74 144 


25 


ISO 


9,777,70 


16 


1,362,27 196 


26 


237 


18,107,03 


49 


2,357,54 286 


27 


169 


9,794,08 


24 


2,153,72 193 


28 


164 


10,957,24 


8 


2,374,47 172 


29 


161 


13,764,27 


12 


3,452,86 173 



30 228 17,651,50 182 13,334,18 410 

31 30 3,800,87 886 56,076,90 916 

32 44 3,773,76 1090 66,987,76 1134 

33 36 3,957,49 1784 108,659,07 1820 

The great decrease of the number of entries of American 
vessels, and the still greater increase of British vessels, is ow- 
ing to the admission of British vessels on the same terms as 
our own, which commenced in October, 1830. During the 
last year, the foreign arrivals at Portland were 167, at Boston 
1067, at New York 1925. 

There are two periods in the history of Eastport, which seem 
to require a more particular notice. I refer to those of the 
Embargo laws, and the late war. 

The Embargo law passed December 22, 1807, which put a 
stop to foreign trade, and was succeeded by four others, each 
increasing the restrictions, till April, 1808, when the coasting 
trade was almost annihilated. It was at first supposed that its 
operation would be extremely prejudicial to the trade and in- 
terests of the place. The facilities offered for exporting prop- 
erty across the lines, and thereby evading the law, were very 
great ; consequently immense quantities of bread stuffs and 



69 

provisions were brought here, before the enforcing act, as it 
was called, passed. 30,000 barrels arrived here in one week, 
and the estimate of 150,000 barrels in about two months, is 
thought to be below the actual quantity piled on wharves, he. 
&ic. Notwithstanding the vigilance of the officers of the Cus- 
toms, the whole was transported across the lines. Many 
thousand barrels were carried to Indian Island and Campobello, 
at one dollar per barrel. It had very bad effects on the mor- 
als and habits of the people ; it lowered the standard of morals 
and introduced some vicious habits, which often attend sudden 
acquisitions of property. The transactions of that period, 
gave importance to the place abroad, and a celebrity and rep- 
utation, of a character some what suspicious, if smuggling and 
illicit trade be taken into the consideration. 

But the event most distressing in its operation, and most in- 
jurious in its consequences, was the capture of the Island by 
the British. War was declared June 18, 1812, and the news 
of it, which reached here in about a week, occasioned a gen- 
eral panic. About one third of the inhabitants left the Island 
in the course of a few days : but two years having elapsed, 
and a good understanding maintained with our neighbors on 
the British side, it was hoped that we might escape the more 
immediate calamities of the war. On the 11th of July, 1814, 
a fleet was seen coming round Campobello, by Head Harbor, 
which at first was supposed to be a fleet of merchantmen, or 
timber ships, bound to St. Andrews under convoy of a frigate. 
When arrived as far as Indian Island, a sloop of war was des- 
patched ahead, with a flag of truce. A boat landed from her 
with an officer, who repaired to the fort with a summons to 
surrender, and five minutes allowed the commanding officer, 
(Major Putnam,) to consider, and accept or refuse the terms 
offered. That term having expired, the officer returned on 
board. The colors were hauled down and the place surrender- 
ed. In the mean time, the vessels, about ten in number, in- 
cluding the Ramillie, 74, a sloop of war, a brig, and two or 
three armed schooners with the transports for the troops, an- 



60 

chored off the town, in commanding situations, to commence 
the attack, should it become necessary. The American troops 
(about sixty-five) marched out of the garrison, in rear of 
the officers' quarters, and grounded their arms ; the officers 
were paroled, and the men sent prisoners of war to Hali- 
fax. The naval force was commanded by Sir T. M. Hardy, 
and the land forces, consisting of the 102d regiment, and a de- 
tachment of the artillery and engineers, by Colonel Pilkington. 
The troops were immediately set to work on the fortifications, 
which were greatly enlarged, and continued till the frost pre- 
vented them in December, and, being without barracks, were 
obliged to live in tents till some time into January. The real 
estate of nonresidents was taken possession of, and occupied 
by the officers and troops : private property was generally re- 
spected. 

For four years, all civil process was suspended, martial law 
was the only law in force, and citizens as well as soldiers were 
subject to its operation. All suits and complaints were heard 
and decided in a summary manner by the commanding officer, 
whose decision was final, and the debtor or delinquent turned 
over to Sargeant Crook, the town Sargeant, or to the guard- 
house, till the debt or fine was paid. There was none of the 
law's delay, whatever there might be of its uncertainty or in- 
justice, in the decisions. 

At the time of the capture, there were in the custom-house, 
bonds for duties for many thousand dollars, which fell into the 
hands of the captors. The payment of these bonds they en- 
deavored to enforce against the obligors, among whom were 
the principal merchants of the place. The last of March, 
1815, the marshall came from Halifax for the purpose of ar- 
resting them ; but by a timely flight, all but one, escaped. 
These refugees, having large interest at stake, which they were 
unwilling to abandon, and under the uncertainty of what might 
be the decision, as to the title and jurisdiction of the island, 
commenced business at the point in Lubec, which was then a 
forest, and but one house, (Mr. D.'s) within a mile of the 



•J I -T r> r^gr A 



61 

Narrows.* The village grew up rapidly, and 3J years after- 
wards, when the Island was restored, it had acquired so firm a 
hold, as to compete with Eastport for the trade of the dis- 
trict. This competition between the two places, was essen- 
tially injurious to both. It would probably have been more 
beneficial to the trade of Passamaquoddy, and money saved, 
eventually, if the whole capital, vested in real estate at the 
Point, when the island was restored, had been abandoned and 
lost, and the undivided and combined operations of the whole 
commercial community concentrated here. 



* This endeavor to enforce the payment of the duty-bonds, was the sole 
cause that the settlement at Lubec Point was commenced. 



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